Ex-FBI Agent Thinks Nancy Guthrie Was Abducted for Ransom and 'Had a Fatal Heart Attack' Shortly After

Retired FBI agent Frank Storey has theorised that Nancy Guthrie may have died after being abducted from her home in the Catalina Foothills area of Tucson, Arizona, in February, as the unresolved investigation passed the seven-month mark in September. Guthrie, 84, is the mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie, and authorities have not publicly identified anyone by name as a suspect in her disappearance.

The FBI says Guthrie was last seen at her residence on the evening of 31 January. Investigators believe she was taken from the property in the early hours of 1 February. The FBI and Pima County Sheriff's Department have released footage showing an armed, masked individual appearing to tamper with a camera at Guthrie's front door and have continued asking the public for information.

Storey discussed the case on a 2 September episode of retired FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer's True Crime With Jen Coffindaffer FBI podcast. Asked whether he believed the case would eventually be solved, Storey said he thought it would and suggested that someone with knowledge of the disappearance could ultimately provide investigators with a breakthrough.

'I think it will be at some point,' Storey said. 'Somewhere along the line, somebody always talks.'

Storey Says a Future Deal Could Produce Information

Storey said that if several people were involved, one of them could later be arrested in an unrelated serious case and decide to cooperate with authorities in an attempt to reduce their own legal exposure. He stressed that such a development was only a possibility.

'That may occur; it may not. But it's possible,' Storey said, adding that he believed the truth would eventually emerge.

His comments did not establish that more than one person participated in Guthrie's disappearance. Sheriff Chris Nanos said in July that investigators had not determined whether the masked individual seen on camera acted alone.

Storey also offered his own theory about what may have happened after Guthrie was taken. He said he believed the abduction began as a kidnapping for ransom but later went wrong, and suggested Guthrie may have 'suffered a fatal heart attack' a day or two after she disappeared.

That account remains speculation rather than an official finding. Authorities have not announced that Guthrie has been located and have not confirmed whether she is alive or dead.

A communication released by the Pima County Sheriff's Department on 31 July provides important context for the theory. The message, sent to a Tucson television station days after Guthrie disappeared, claimed that she had died shortly after being taken. Authorities released it alongside an earlier ransom demand in an effort to generate leads, but they have not confirmed that the claim about Guthrie's death is true.

DNA Testing Has Yet To Identify a Suspect

Investigators have also continued examining biological evidence recovered from Guthrie's home. Nanos said in late July that testing on a hair sample had been completed without producing a suspect lead.

A separate mixed DNA sample, containing material from as many as four people, was still being examined by several laboratories, including the FBI laboratory in Quantico, Virginia. Nanos said investigators were uncertain whether existing technology would allow scientists to separate the mixed sample sufficiently to identify a suspect.

The FBI continues to list Guthrie among its kidnapping and missing-person cases and is seeking information that could help locate her or identify anyone involved in her disappearance.

Storey's comments therefore amount to a former investigator's assessment of how the case could eventually break and what may have happened after the abduction. They do not establish Guthrie's fate, the number of people involved or the identity of anyone responsible.

Nanos has maintained that the investigation remains active. In July, he said law-enforcement agencies and outside partners were continuing to work on the case and rejected suggestions that investigators had stopped pursuing leads.

'This case is not cold,' Nanos said.