Nancy Guthrie Suspect Update: Ex-FBI Agent Predicts Kidnapper Will Change His Appearance BUT 'He Will Be Caught' — After Making Crucial Mistakes Following Abduction
Nancy Guthrie has been missing for nearly three months.
April 23 2026, Published 3:02 p.m. ET
Nancy Guthrie has been missing for nearly three months with few leads other than eerie camera footage of a masked man on her doorstep the night of her apparent abduction.
As hopes diminish that the ailing 84-year-old will ever be found and that her kidnapper will be brought to justice, a former FBI agent claimed he believes the suspect "will be caught" after making crucial errors.
Theories on the Kidnapper's Next Moves
A masked suspect was caught on a doorbell camera the night of Nancy's disappearance.
Jim Clemente, an ex-FBI special agent and profiler, told Parade that the suspect will attempt to change his physical appearance after being caught on camera.
He will likely also try to change his vehicle and get as far away from the crime scene as he can.
"I firmly believe that the mistakes that this offender made during the course of committing this crime and afterwards – and even before actually committing the crime in the pre-attack surveillance that appears to have happened – that he will be caught," he shared.
Inside the Kidnapper's Mindset
Nancy Guthrie is 'Today' show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie's mother.
Clemente also gave insight into questions the suspect likely has racing through his head as the investigation nears the three-month mark.
"What is going through his mind is likely, ‘Did I actually get away with this?'" he theorized. "‘Was I able to permanently conceal her body? And will there be any way that they won’t be able to tie it to me?’"
He also suggested the alleged kidnapper would be "absolutely watching every bit of coverage" there is on the search for Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie's missing mom.
"Perhaps even talking to people about it to try to find out more information, or been setting up an alibi with other people," Clemente added. "In other words, that he was somewhere else and could not have been involved."
Crucial Errors Made by the Suspect
The suspect attempted to cover the Nest camera with foliage.
As Radar previously reported, Lisa Ribacoff-Mooney, a private investigator and owner of Interpoint Investigative Services, said one of the suspect's biggest mistakes was not knowing where the doorbell camera was ahead of time and failing to keep himself from being recorded.
"Covering up the camera does not get rid of the data that is recorded though," Ribacoff-Mooney said at the time, referring to the footage of the masked man trying to put foliage over the Nest camera. "The camera has audio and video capabilities and information regarding an audio file has not been released."
Investigation Flubs Galore
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Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has received backlash for his handling of the investigation.
But Ribacoff-Mooney didn't only criticize the suspect, she also called out Pima County law enforcement for numerous slip-ups early on the search.
"This investigation is going to be written into the textbooks being used by many police academies of how and what not to do when it comes to investigative work," she speculated.
"First mistake made was not securing the crime scene longer. To close the house off and then open it and reclose it was a disaster," she continued. "The amount of DNA and fibers that were brought into the home after securing it a second time was now contaminating the original crime scene."
