TRUE CRIME NEWS'The Answer Is Right There': Nancy Guthrie's Kidnappers Are Likely Local, Former FBI Assistant Director Suspects
Nancy Guthrie has been missing for nearly three months.
April 28 2026, Updated 12:42 p.m. ET
It's likely whoever abducted Nancy Guthrie's from her Tucson, Ariz., home on February 1 is local to the area, according to a former FBI assistant director.
In a recent episode of "The Fairfax Files," John Miller told host Michael Hershman, "I think the answer is — and I think that the Guthrie family believes this, too — the answer is right there. The answer is in Tucson."
"This was probably something hatched locally by someone who thought, 'Here’s an individual who is relatively defenseless, lives alone, is vulnerable, unable to put up a lot of resistance,'" he explained, noting the perp(s) were likely aware that Today star Savannah Guthrie is her daughter.
A masked intruder was captured on her front porch in the early hours of February 1.
John went on to say the person or persons responsible for her disappearance know that Savannah, 54, has "resources and money," and that her mom lives alone.
He pointed out that most kidnappings are carried out by someone with some sort of connection the victim, like an employee, former employee or a person who had worked at the property before.
'We're Gonna Get a Big Payday'
The 84-year-old's blood was found outside her front door.
The former assistant FBI director then referenced the purported ransom notes received by multiple media outlets demanding millions in bitcoin.
"I don’t think that this case is going to be vastly different, other than someone local who had enough contact around that house to assess what that would be like, and had some idea, some nightmarish dream about, 'We’re gonna demand a lot of money, and we’re gonna do it through crypto, and we’re never gonna have to go to a ransom drop or pick up a package or show ourselves, we’re gonna take kidnapping into the digital age, and we’re gonna get a big payday,'" John said.
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Investigators believe she was targeted.
84-year-old Nancy was last seen by family members at her upscale Catalina Foothills home on the evening of January 31. Blood confirmed to be hers was found on her front porch the next day.
While investigators have released doorbell footage of a masked suspect and a description of that individual, no suspects have been named. The person, who appeared to be armed, was seemingly tampering with her security camera around the time she went missing.
The authenticity of aforementioned ransom notes is unclear, but the family did reach out the alleged kidnappers via pleading video messages multiple times early on.
DNA evidence is undergoing analysis at the FBI's lab.
In a recent update, it was revealed the FBI is now analyzing "potentially critical" DNA evidence found inside Nancy's Arizona home.
The Guthrie family is offering a $1 million reward for information that leads to Nancy's "recovery."
