Nancy Guthrie Was 'Injured But Not Killed' in Chilling Abduction, Former FBI Agent Theorizes as Elderly Woman Remains Missing — 'Violence Took Place'

Nancy Guthrie has been missing for more than one month after disappearing from her Arizona home and leaving behind her wallet, keys, cell phone – and blood on the door.

As the search for Savannah Guthrie's ailing mother continues, a former FBI agent suggested that the elderly woman was not killed in the attack, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

Nancy, 84, was last seen on January 31 when she was dropped off at her house in Catalina Foothills after having dinner with her daughter Annie and her son-in-law Tommaso Cioni.

The next day, she was gone without a trace and only her personal items, blood, and eerie footage of a man wearing a ski mask and black gloves captured by her Nest camera remained.

While it's clear that something violent did occur in her home that night, Andrew Bringuel, a retired FBI agent who now operates a private security consulting firm in New York, suggested that it wasn't the kidnapper's intention to kill her.

"Without knowing if anything of [value] was indeed stolen, my opinion is the subject's intent was to kidnap Mrs. Guthrie but something went wrong, violence took place, and she was injured but not killed," he explained in an interview with Newsweek. "If his intent was to murder her, he could have done so with the weapon on his person. He clearly wasn't against the use of violence as the evidence suggests he caused an injury to Mrs. Guthrie."

Bringuel said it was possible the suspect "underestimated" the 84-year-old.

"If she resisted, he hurt her – how badly in her compromised state may have led to tragic consequences the subject didn't plan," he added.

In the wake of Nancy's disappearance, several ransom letters were sent to the Guthrie family and to media outlets, but few details were made public and authorities seemed to have dismissed them as major leads for the time being.

"I am curious why the police have not released the communications between the 'subject(s)' and the media/police," Bringuel said of the ransom notes. "This may be to protect the integrity of the case, it may be because they do not believe they are legitimate, it may be to protect the victim, or some other strategic reason."

However, if the notes were legitimate, making their contents public could potentially help authorities crack the case.

"If the communications sent to the media contain slang or unique language, perhaps someone in the public could help," the ex-FBI agent explained.

As for the masked suspect, Bringuel claimed he didn't appear to be "a particularly professional" criminal, based on his actions and body language from the surveillance footage.

"The way he walked to the home suggests to me that he wasn't exactly sure where the camera was located until he got to the porch. He even walked with his head bowed down," he continued. "He identifies where it is but then has to fetch a piece of brush to conceal it before dismantling it."

While Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos recently said he believed they were "definitely closer" to solving the case, Bringuel suggested authorities have to "keep a positive spin" on things in order to "keep the public engaged" and Nancy's disappearance in the news cycle.

However, that doesn't mean Bringuel has lost hope on finding answers.

"I do believe that this case will be solved and the subject identified, most likely with the public's help," he said.