Retired FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer issued an urgent plea to authorities investigating the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show star Savannah Guthrie, asking them to expand their search radius.
© InstagramFresh eyes
Jennifer shared that the desert area near Nancy's house in Tucson, Arizona, could provide the key to finding the missing grandmother, who disappeared from her home on February 1.
She compared Nancy's case to the eerily similar disappearance of Thelma Gaston, an 80-year-old millionaire who went missing in California in 1981. The case went cold for decades until DNA testing led to the discovery of her body near Sugar Loaf Mountain.
She was killed by a man with whom she had been romantically linked, and he was arrested and handed a life sentence.
Looking back
Jennifer drew a comparison to Thelma and Nancy's cases in a post on X.
"Thelma Gaston/Nancy Guthrie. Thelma was a millionaire who went missing 40 years ago when she was 80 YO [sic]," she began. "Her remains were finally found near Sugar Loaf Mountain in a desolate area. She was murdered by her paramour, Lawrence Remsen, who received life for killing her."
"This is exactly why searches need to be conducted for Nancy. Unless they know where she is, search that desert," Jennifer concluded.
© InstagramOpen road
Similarly, retired FBI Supervising Special Agent Steve Moore told NewsNation that authorities should expand their search into Tohono O'odham Nation Reservation near Nancy's home, as it shares a border with Mexico.
"You could go miles without seeing any kind of residents, but at the same time, if anybody does see you and doesn't recognize you, you're going to stand out, especially if there's two or three of you – or, a vehicle is going to be a big deal," said Steve. He did not suggest any connection between the reservation and Nancy's disappearance.
© Getty ImagesOngoing investigation
The Pima County Sheriff's Department has been combing through tens of thousands of tips in conjunction with the FBI, as the desperate search for Nancy continues.
Jennifer shared with Men's Journal that despite the lengthy investigation, she believed the case was still "red hot" and likely to be solved in the coming weeks.
"In terms of future predictions, I essentially 100 percent believe this will be solved," she told the outlet.
"From an investigator's point of view, when something's cold, it means you have absolutely no clues left. You have no leads to follow. It's dead. It just dies, and you have to put it on the shelf. This is not that. This is the opposite of that. They're still drinking from a fire hose."
© FBINancy's disappearance
Authorities were first alerted about Nancy's disappearance around midday on February 1, when her family went to check on her after she failed to turn up for church. She had spent the previous night having dinner with her daughter, Annie Guthrie, and Annie's husband Tomasso Cioni, and had been dropped home just before 10 p.m.
Her doorbell camera was then disconnected at 1:47 a.m., and the software detected movement around 25 minutes later. Her pacemaker app disconnected from her phone at 2:28 a.m., as she had likely moved out of range.
While there have been few leads in the case, the FBI released footage of a masked man attempting to dismantle her doorbell camera and asked for information on the individual.
