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Savannah Guthrie's Agony — The Horrifying Reason Her Mom Nancy's 'Kidnapper May Never Be Found' Revealed as the Desperate Search Continues

Photo of Savannah and Nancy Guthrie
Source: @savannahguthrie/Instagram

Nancy Guthrie has been missing since Sunday.

Feb. 5 2026, Updated 11:40 a.m. ET

The horrifying reason Savannah Guthrie's mother Nancy's kidnapper may never be found has been revealed, RadarOnline.com can report.

Art Del Cueto, a veteran US Customs and Border Protection officer who lives close to Nancy, opened up on why he thinks finding her kidnapper may be a struggle.

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There Are 'Too Many Variables to Rule Anything Out,' a Veteran US Customs and Border Protection Officer Shared

Photo of Nancy Guthrie
Source: @savannahguthrie/Instagram

A former FBI special agent doesn't believe Nancy Guthrie's abduction was 'random.'

Del Cueto spoke to a media outlet to explain that the area around Nancy's home is relatively remote, with there being a lot of desert vegetation between homes and the road.

Due to the landscape, he noted even modern surveillance technology can be unreliable, and cameras from neighbors would be relatively useless, as their views of people or vehicles moving in or out would be blocked by foliage.

Although he acknowledged Nancy's connection to Savannah may have been known locally, he explained the geography of their location, with Southern Arizona being on the edge of the U.S.-Mexico border, may be a factor.

"We're on the southern border. You're dealing with international crime all the time, and there are just too many variables to rule anything out," he stated.

"If somebody gets spooked, they can make it into Mexico in under an hour and a half – that's why authorities may not be sharing everything they know."

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A Former FBI Special Agent Doesn't Believe Nancy Guthrie's Abduction Was 'Random'

Photo of Nancy and Savannah Guthrie
Source: @savannahguthrie/Instagram

A former FBI special agent doesn't believe a family member was involved in Nancy Guthrie's abduction as 'they wouldn't have used forced entry.'

Dr. Bryanna Fox, a former FBI special agent in the FBI's Behavior Science Unit, also spoke to the same outlet, sharing that, "If it was a family member or somebody who knows the house, they wouldn't have forced entry. If she knew them, they would have been likely to have carried out a ruse to get her to go with them and get into the vehicle.

She doesn't believe this was "random," though.

"This was probably a person or a group of people that selected her, probably cased her pattern of life, what time she goes to sleep, knew that she didn't have security, knew that she lived alone, and would be sleeping alone," she detailed.

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A Retired Detective Believes the Suspect 'Crossed Paths' With Nancy Guthrie Prior to Her Going Missing

Photo of Nancy Guthrie
Source: PIMA COUNTY SHERIFF

Nancy Guthrie was last seen Saturday evening at her home.

Chris McDonough, a retired detective with Oceanside PD, spoke to the same outlet to share his belief the suspect "crossed paths" with Nancy at some point prior to her going missing.

"That could be a gardener or a delivery person or so on," he detailed. "It's somebody who knew that she was around 84 and living in that house on her own. At some point, they had crossed into her environment."

Both McDonough and Fox acknowledged elder abduction is rare.

Fox also noted situations where ransom money is left and kidnapped victims are handed over don't happen often as "they rarely work" due to modern technology such as cameras, cell phone towers, and electronic surveillance.

"It is incredibly hard to pull it off these days," she said.

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What Motive Could the Abductor Have?

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Photo of Nancy and Savannah Guthrie
Source: @savannahguthrie/Instagram

If the motivation for abducting Nancy Guthrie isn't financial, a former FBI special agent said it could be 'purely for violence and thrill-seeking.'

If the kidnappers are seeking money, she explained, they'd be more likely to try to get remote access to a victim's bank accounts, 401(k), or pension and change funds to Bitcoin to make it untraceable.

If the motivation isn't financial, Fox unsettlingly revealed it could then be "purely for violence and thrill-seeking."

As for who Fox thinks the suspect may be, she stated she believes he's "a male between the ages of 30 and 45 who has a criminal record, is sophisticated enough to know what law enforcement is going to be looking for, and has committed a series of escalating types of crimes."

"This doesn't strike me as someone on their first attempt," she added.

Nancy has been missing since Sunday when she didn't show up to a church service. She was last seen Saturday evening at her home.

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