Nancy Guthrie's disappearance defies FBI kidnapping trends involving elderly victims

TUCSON, Ariz. — Arizona investigators proceed to look for leads into the Nancy Guthrie abduction case, arsenic the hunt for clues enters its 4th week and appears to beryllium a statistical outlier, according to FBI information and an expert. 

Guthrie, 84, the parent of NBC's "Today" co-host Savannah Guthrie, was abducted oregon kidnapped from her Tucson, Ariz. home, wherever she was past seen connected Jan. 31.

Despite the wide attraction the lawsuit has received from the quality media and amateur sleuths, it stands retired due to the fact that kidnapping and abduction of aged victims stay highly rare. 

Retired FBI supervisory cause James Gagliano, who served arsenic a lawman ineligible attaché successful Mexico City from 2013-14 portion moving connected kidnapping cases involving American citizens, said that specified crimes involving older victims astir ne'er happen. 

This representation released by the FBI shows an equipped idiosyncratic appearing to person tampered with the camera astatine Nancy Guthrie's beforehand doorway the greeting of her disappearance successful Tucson, Arizona, Sunday, February 1, 2026. (L) An undated photograph of Nancy Guthrie provided by NBC. (Courtesy of NBC; FBI)

"I don't ever retrieve moving an octogenarian (case)," Gagliano told Fox News Digital, referring to a idiosyncratic successful their eighties. "That's however uncommon this is."

"Anytime I've heard of it, it was idiosyncratic taking a genitor retired of a attraction facility," helium added. 

From January 2025 done January 2026, determination were 54,653 kidnappings oregon abductions reported successful the United States, according to FBI figures. 

Of those, 604 victims were betwixt the ages of 70 to 79 and 168 victims were betwixt 80 and 89, the FBI said. Only 27 victims were aged 90 and above. Of the full fig of kidnappings, much than 36,000 were taken from a residence, according to FBI figures. 

Like astir kidnappings, the victims were acquainted with their abductors, with astir offenders being either a fellow oregon girlfriend. Just implicit 5,200 kidnappings past twelvemonth were committed by idiosyncratic who was a alien to the victim. 

From January 2021 done January 2026, kidnappings of radical ages 70 to 89 accounted for conscionable implicit 1% of each abductions successful the U.S., the FBI figures show. 

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Authorities successful Arizona are inactive searching for clues successful the Nancy Guthrie case. The 84-year-old was past seen astatine her Tucson location connected Jan. 31.  (Getty Images)

Abductions typically hap for nett oregon revenge, Gagliano said. He noted that during his clip moving kidnappings successful Mexico City, galore progressive Mexican nationals with U.S. citizenship who were kidnapped for ransom. 

Guthrie was past seen astatine her location successful the Catalina Foothills country adjacent Tucson. Her children dropped her disconnected astatine astir 9:45 p.m. connected Jan. 31, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said. Early connected successful the investigation, Nanos said Guthrie didn't permission the location connected her ain accord, adding that a transgression had been committed.

In summation to searching the surrounding areas adjacent her home, authorities person tried to find Guthrie's pacemaker via caller exertion to sniff retired a awesome from the device. 

Gagliano said it's hard to find whether those progressive successful Guthrie's alleged disappearance are looking to profit. 

Investigators look implicit paperwork successful the vicinity wherever Annie Guthrie, whose parent Nancy Guthrie has been missing for much than a week, lives conscionable extracurricular Tucson, Ariz., connected Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (Ty ONeil/AP Photo)

In an interrogation with "NBC Nightly News" that aired Saturday, Nanos said investigators were not looking astatine immoderate caller names and that it was inactive unclear whether the DNA recovered wrong Guthrie's location has been utile for the investigation. 

Amid the unanswered questions successful the case, quality outlets person received ransom notes related to the suspected kidnapping. Last year, the FBI warned of a "proof of life" scam wherever scammers change photos from societal media to extort radical successful fake ransom scams.

Ret. FBI peculiar cause Robin Dreeke said ransom notes successful the Guthrie lawsuit are conscionable "spearfishing," saying helium believes Guthrie's disappearance was portion of a location burglary perchance gone wrong.

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"Not lone is it highly uncommon for an aged idiosyncratic to beryllium targeted successful this way, it's adjacent much uncommon to beryllium targeted successful this way," Dreeke told Fox News Digital. "This was not immoderate analyzable thing. This was a location burglary, I think, for a precise circumstantial item… similar they typically people with the elderly."

"My conjecture is that this idiosyncratic targeted Nancy, targets the elderly, due to the fact that they don't announcement erstwhile things are missing successful the house," helium added.

As the probe continues, determination could beryllium a "twist oregon a turn" that nary 1 saw coming, Gagliano said. 

"I'm assured that they're going to find the radical that did this," helium said. "I'm conscionable not assured that it's going to beryllium a rescue oregon release. I'm fearing astatine this juncture it mightiness beryllium a recovery."

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