'Fragile' Nancy Guthrie's Dead Body 'Dumped' by Kidnappers Once She Was 'No Longer of Value,' Cold-Case Detective Claims
Nancy Guthrie may have no longer been valuable to her kidnappers, according to an investigator.
April 9 2026, Updated 3:18 p.m. ET
Nancy Guthrie's kidnappers may have underestimated just how frail the elderly 84-year-old was before snatching her from her Tucson home, RadarOnline.com can report.
There's new speculation Savannah Guthrie's mom may have suffered some sort of unexpected fatal medical episode, leading the ransom-seekers to dump her body and move on.
Taking Care of Nancy
Savannah Guthrie's mom has been missing since February 1.
The search for Nancy is now in its third month with little progress or hope to show for it. Authorities released video and photos of a masked individual ripping off a doorbell camera and breaking into her home, but a suspect has yet to be identified.
Brian Martin, an Indiana detective who specializes in cold cases, told NewsNation’s Brian Entin the plan may have fallen apart if something horrific did happen to Nancy, who was wearing a pacemaker when she was abducted.
"It just scares me to think that somebody maybe took Miss Guthrie, and she had some sort of medical event when it was happening, because obviously it’d be an incredibly stressful situation and very taxing on somebody," Martin said.
'Horrible' Fate
The elderly woman had a pacemaker prior to her abduction.
Nancy's pacemaker stopped syncing with her Apple watch around 2 am the morning she was taken. It's not clear if the medical device has been active or in use since then.
However, any type of surprise medical episode could have thrown the kidnapper's entire plan "sideways," according to Martin.
"What really bothers me is if they underestimated Miss Guthrie’s health and thought, 'Well, we’ll take her, this will be easy. We'll hold on to her at an unknown location for a day or two. We'll get some money out of this and we'll leave her in a Walmart parking lot.'"
He added: "And what they had to do is … it sounds horrible…. They had to dispose of Miss Guthrie because she was no longer of value to them in that monetary gain that they’re hoping to get."
Under Pressure
The kidnappers may have been spooked as the investigation ramped up.
The high-profile celebrity status of daughter Savannah may have spooked the abductors as well. FBI analyst Jason Pack said that the news anchor's prominence on the Today show has kept a spotlight on the case, potentially further heightening anxiety among Nancy's captors.
"Every day that passes, the pressure builds," Pack said. "Keeping a secret like this is exhausting. … and that gets harder with every morning that Savannah Guthrie sits behind that anchor desk."
"Most criminals in cases like this count on the media moving on. They count on the family fading from public view. They count on people forgetting. This case is different," he continued. "Savannah has a national platform, and she shows up on it every single day. Every time a viewer sees her face, they think about her mother."
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Something's Gotta Give
Savannah continues to hold out hope of finding her mom.
Pack believes the more attention the case receives, the more "pressure on the people responsible goes up."
"Add a reward of more than one million dollars and the full weight of FBI resources and you have a situation where the walls are not just closing, but they are closing from every direction at once."
Pack went on to urge Nancy’s neighbors to check their cameras — and contact authorities with any information on her disappearance.
"At some point, someone is going to have the courage to make that call," he said. "One phone call from someone who decides the reward money matters more than their silence is all it takes to bring law enforcement directly to their front door."
