Nancy Guthrie’s body is ‘unlikely’ to ever be found if she was murdered during a botched abduction, an expert has claimed.
Private investigator Dan Ribacoff said turning the case from ‘just’ a kidnapping into a murder probe would likely drive those behind it ‘underground’.
The 84-year-old mother of US TV journalist Savannah Guthrie vanished on February 1, sparking a huge manhunt.
Pima County Sheriff’s Department is investigating with the FBI and believe she was taken ‘against her will’ in a ‘targeted’ crime.
Despite the huge search, blanket news coverage and her family offering up to $1 million for information, her whereabouts remain unknown five months on.
During that time, three ransom notes, all demanding millions of dollars in Crypto, have been sent.
They were initially treated as genuine, though Reuters reported yesterday that the FBI were now treating them as fakes.
The Phoenix FBI later posted a statement on X clarifying that, while some of the notes ‘have been deemed extortion attempts without legitimacy’,other ‘ransom demands may potentially be legitimate’.
Speaking as the case remained unsolved, Ribacoff told the BBC that if she died during the abduction ‘now it’s a murder and not just a kidnapping’.
‘It probably drove the criminal underground,’ he said.
‘He doesn’t want to release … where the body is buried, because he doesn’t want to expose himself.’
Ribacoff, who founded the International Investigative Group, claimed the situation would have played out differently if it went to plan.
‘I believe that a ransom would have been paid,’ he explained.
‘She probably would have been released, causing additional leads to be generated — maybe through IP addresses or telephone records, things along those lines, but it went cold very, very quickly evidence-wise right after that kidnapping.’
Nancy, who has limited mobility and relies on medication to manage her health conditions, vanished from her home in the Catalina Foothills outside Tucson, Arizona. in the early hours of February 1.
Doorbell footage captured a masked individual carrying a backpack approaching her porch shortly before the camera was disconnected.
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Her family were alerted the next day when she didn’t show up at a friend’s house for church which led to a search being launched.
Since her disappearance, three notes have been sent to a US outlet, demanding millions in Crypto.
They claimed to know who the kidnappers are and have footage of ‘the day Nancy died’.
The first allegedly demanded $4million in Bitcoin and said the figure would rise to $6million if it wasn’t sent in the outlined timeframe.
A later one reportedly offered an ‘apology’ for her death and claimed her body could be returned for $4m.
The Today Show presenter Savannah, 54, has made several emotional public pleas to try and get her mother back safely.
In a direct appeal to the abductors, she said: ‘We beg you now to return our mother to us, so that we can celebrate with her.
‘This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.’
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department previously told Metro: ‘The investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie remains active and ongoing.
‘The Pima County Sheriff’s Department continues to work closely with the FBI as investigators follow up on leads, review information, and pursue the facts surrounding this case.’