A former top FBI official has publicly challenged the central assumption driving the investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance, raising the possibility that the case may not be a kidnapping at all.
Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Savannah Guthrie, vanished from her Tucson, Arizona home earlier this month.
While federal and local authorities have been treating the case as a possible abduction tied to a mysterious ransom note, former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker says the evidence does not add up.
“I’m very skeptical of this,” Swecker said on Sunday (February 8).
A former FBI official believes those demanding a ransom in exchange for Nancy Guthrie’s safety are scammers
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“Is this really a kidnapping? Does somebody really have her, and is she really alive?” he asked during his appearance on The Big Weekend Show, referring to the individuals claiming to be holding Nancy Guthrie.
Swecker’s comments came days after Savannah Guthrie and her two siblings made emotional public pleas on social media, urging whoever has their mother to return her safely.
The family also agreed to pay up to a reported $6 million ransom demanded by the alleged abductors.
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According to Swecker, that figure alone raises serious questions.
“Remember now, it was 1 million not too long ago. All of a sudden, it’s 6 million,” he said. “If this was a kidnapping, it would be a very simple matter to authenticate and provide proof of life.”
He noted that no such proof has been “credibly authenticated at this point,” adding, “You have to allow for the possibility that this was something more or something other than a kidnapping.”
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Swecker went further, suggesting that the messages may not even be coming from someone with direct involvement in Nancy’s disappearance.
“I really think there’s a third party here that’s just playing with them, opportunists who think they can exploit this situation,” he said.
At least two purported ransom messages have surfaced since Nancy Guthrie vanished from her home
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Federal investigators previously revealed new details about the ransom note during a press conference in Tucson on Thursday (February 5). Chris Nanos, the Pima County Sheriff, said the letter demanded money in cryptocurrency and warned of consequences if the demands were not met.
“The clock is ticking,” Nanos told reporters, confirming the initial deadline was set for 5 pm Mountain Time.
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The letter was sent to TMZ and a local Arizona news outlet approximately 120 hours after Nancy Guthrie was last seen.
What alarmed investigators was the level of detail it contained. According to Nanos, the writers referenced Nancy’s Apple Watch and a flood light at her $1 million Tucson home, information that would not be known to a casual observer.
“It included insider information,” Nanos said.
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Despite those specifics, the note did not include proof of life and offered no way for investigators or the family to contact the sender. Authorities also confirmed that there has been no follow up communication, a deviation from what is typically seen in kidnapping cases.
“There would normally be contact by now,” said Heith Janke, the FBI Phoenix Special Agent in Charge. “In a normal kidnapping case there would be contact trying to discuss that.”
As the February 9 deadline passes, netizens believe the chances of Nancy returning alive are close to zero
Discussion around Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance has taken a darker turn.
Across social media platforms, many netizens began openly questioning whether the 84-year-old is still alive at all, pointing to her medical condition and the tone of recent public statements from her daughter.
Investigators have already confirmed that Nancy’s critical medication was left behind inside the house.
Authorities have also stressed that she did not suffer from dementia or cognitive decline, making it highly unlikely she would have left voluntarily without essentials she depended on daily.
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“She would not have survived long without her medication,” one commenter wrote.
“RIP Nancy,” another added. “Whatever happened that night caused her to be injured and she probably passed shortly after this break in occurred.”
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That belief has been reinforced, in the eyes of critics, by how Savannah Guthrie has framed her recent appeals.
Several netizens noted that her last two public messages appeared to reference her mother in the past tense, something they interpreted as a sign that the family may have privately accepted the worst.
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“The family knows she is not alive and is willing to pay for the return of her body so she may be buried properly,” a reader wrote.
“The elder Mrs. Guthrie is no longer alive,” another claimed. “Savannah wasn’t asking for her mother to be returned as a person anymore, but for her mother’s body to be returned so they can celebrate her life with a proper burial.”
“Definitely strange.” Netizens shared their theories on Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance
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