\u201cMy mom is so incredible,\u201d Savannah said, describing how the 84-year-old raised three children alone after their father died when Savannah was 16. She said her mother viewed her Tucson home as a \u201csafe haven\u201d and said seeing it violated was especially painful.<\/p>\n
Former FBI special agent Harry Trombitas told Yahoo that the timing of Savannah\u2019s interview is probably not coincidental. With no major breakthroughs, no suspects identified and no motive publicly released, Trombitas said it was probably coordinated with authorities and the Guthrie family.<\/p>\n
These were the main takeaways Trombitas took from Savannah Guthrie\u2019s Today show interview \u2014 and the ongoing investigation.<\/p>\n
‘Today’ interview was likely coordinated with authorities to bring case back into public eye<\/p>\n
\u201cAs far as the timing of the interviews that Savannah has done,\u201d Trombitas said, \u201cI really believe that that’s most likely coordinated between the sheriff’s office, the FBI and the Guthrie family.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said as a former FBI special agent, some of the interview’s goals were to humanize Nancy Guthrie as a person, persuade the suspects to do the right thing and to keep the case in the public eye.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know I’ve done that in the past,\u201d Trombitas recalled. \u201cWe’ve done that multiple times when we’re working a case, and it seems like it’s kind of slowed down. We’ll hold a press conference, or we’ll orchestrate something so that it gets the case back out into the public again and keep it fresh in people’s minds.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trombitas said there are still people out there who likely have no idea that Nancy Guthrie is missing. \u201cWe’ve got to keep getting that information out there because it may finally come across the right person, and all of a sudden they realize that what they saw or the information that they have may be significant to the case.\u201d<\/p>\n
Humanizing Nancy Guthrie was a key element of the interview![\"Savannah](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ca8cdb70-00dc-11f1-bfd4-870351dcfbd0.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Savannah Guthrie and mother Nancy Guthrie on June 15, 2023.<\/p>\n
(NBC via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
In the sit-down, Savannah described her mother as \u201cresolute and strong\u201d and as having \u201cquiet strength, quiet faith, but hard-fought.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s funny and a little mischievous, I would say, in her humor. She\u2019s a noble creature; she does what\u2019s right,\u201d Savannah added.<\/p>\n
Trombitas explained that FBI agents would always try to \u201chumanize our victim.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAny time that we can go before the media and therefore the public, and talk about, in this case, Nancy and what a great mom she was and how she was well-liked, all these thoughts that Savannah portrayed, really helps to humanize Nancy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is someone’s mom, someone’s grandmother. Get it across to the individuals involved and or anybody that may know who’s involved to kind of soften their heart a little bit,\u201d Trombitas explained, adding that it\u2019s in hopes that it will convince them to come forward to law enforcement.<\/p>\n
2 or more people might have been involved in Nancy Guthrie\u2019s disappearance![\"Law](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/gettyimages-2263543145_4048.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Law enforcement officials visit Nancy Guthrie’s residence in Tucson, Ariz.<\/p>\n
(Joe Raedle\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
In the interview, Savannah recalled speaking with her sister Annie during the first moments she learned her mother had gone missing. \u201cShe was in a panic. I was in a panic.\u201d Annie told Savannah that she had called 911 and that authorities were already at Nancy Guthrie\u2019s home.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thought that she must have had some kind of medical episode in the night and that somehow the paramedics had come because the back doors were propped open,\u201d Savannah recalled. \u201cThat didn\u2019t make any sense. We thought maybe they came and there was a stretcher and they took her out the back, but her phone was there, and her purse was there, and all her things, and it just didn\u2019t make any sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
Early in the investigation, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos disputed reports that there were signs of forced entry into Nancy Guthrie\u2019s home.<\/p>\n
Trombitas told Yahoo that Savannah\u2019s interview was the first time he heard that the back doors of Nancy Guthrie\u2019s home were propped open. \u201cWho did that? Was that Nancy? Because it was hot? I find that hard to believe, but it also could have been the perpetrators who did that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Trombitas also believes more than one person was involved in Nancy\u2019s disappearance.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo control somebody, even if it’s an 84-year-old woman who’s not in the greatest health, that’s a lot to try to accomplish as one person. So I truly believe that there were two or more people involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ransom notes must have included something believable, former agent says![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ap26054079074535_8652.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
A law enforcement officer from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department photographs a flyer on a mailbox at the home of Nancy Guthrie in Tucson.<\/p>\n
(Felicia Fonseca\/AP)<\/p>\n
Authorities said that multiple ransom notes were sent to various media outlets and the Guthrie family in the days after Nancy Guthrie was reported missing.<\/p>\n
The Pima County Sheriff\u2019s Department and the FBI said in February that they were investigating the validity of the ransom notes but have not said publicly whether those notes were believed to have been from any person who may have abducted Guthrie.<\/p>\n
Savannah weighed in on the validity of the ransom notes during her interview.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of different notes, I think, that came,\u201d Savannah said. \u201cAnd I think most of them, it\u2019s my understanding, are not real. And I didn\u2019t see them, but a person that would send a fake ransom note really has to look deeply at themselves \u2014 to a family in pain. But I believe the two notes that we received, that we responded to, I tend to believe those are real.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trombitas said that while we don\u2019t exactly know what was in the notes, \u201cThere must be something that indicated, that was put in the notes, that made not only the Guthrie family but also investigators believe that these might be from legitimate individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trombitas pointed out that there has been no public announcement that any ransom has been paid.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat’s a curious thing too. If they thought maybe the notes were authentic, why hasn’t any \u2014 at least we don’t know of any money that’s exchanged hands or anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nancy Guthrie\u2019s disappearance was likely a planned event![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/gettyimages-2263358117_5862.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
A Pima County Sheriff deputy watches as workers place “No Trespassing” signs around the home of Nancy Guthrie.<\/p>\n
(Joe Raedle\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n