It’s been three months since the TODAY show host Savannah Guthrie’s 84 year-old mother Nancy Guthrie was kidnapped from her home in Tucson, Arizona. Sadly, no trace of her has been found, and she remains missing at this time.
Earlier this week, the kidnapping survivor and advocate Elizabeth Smart spoke out to reveal her surprising theory about Nancy. Indeed, despite the fact that many have given up hope, Smart wants the world to know that she firmly believes that Nancy could still be alive.
Smart’s Nancy Guthrie Theory
During an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett on Tuesday, Smart was asked if Nancy could have survived being kidnapped from her bed, just how she was as a child.
“Absolutely. She could absolutely still be alive,” Smart, 38, replied without any hesitation.
Smart went on to cite other missing persons cases in which the victims were found alive years later.
“We’re talking years and years, so she could absolutely still be alive,” Smart continued. “Of course there is the alternative, but until we know, we have to keep looking.”
Smart concluded by saying that “either way, [Nancy] deserves to be brought home.”
Check out Smart’s full comments on this in the video below.
Elizabeth Smart’s History
Smart was only 14 years-old when she was kidnapped from her bed in the middle of the night at her home in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2002. She was raped daily by her captor, and was also both physically abused and starved. Smart was finally rescued nine months later after she was recognized walking the streets of Utah with her captor.
In the years since then, Smart has become an advocate for sexual assault survivors and the families of missing children through The Elizabeth Smart Foundation. She opened up about her kidnapping in the Netflix documentary Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart, which dropped in January.
Check out a trailer for that documentary in the video below.
Nancy Guthrie’s Abduction
Nancy Guthrie was last seen on the night of Saturday, January 31. That evening, she had dinner with her daughter Annie and son-in-law Tommaso Cioni. They dropped her off at home afterwards at around 9:45pm, and she tragically hasn’t been seen since.
A masked intruder was captured on Nancy’s doorbell ring camera in the early hours of February 1. He managed to cover the camera with some plants before moving forward with the kidnapping.
It has since been revealed that the masked man had been seen in the doorbell ring camera prior to the night Nancy was taken. This indicates that he may have been casing out her home.
Former FBI Agent Weighs In
Nancy suffered from serious heart issues and required daily medication in order to stay alive. This medication was left behind in her home after her abduction. This combined with the fact that drops of blood were found outside Nancy’s home have led many experts to speculate that she may not have survived her abduction as Elizabeth did.
“Kidnapping for ransom. Nancy sadly died,” former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer claimed last month.
“The kidnappers didn’t care and tortured the family with 2 notes knowing the FBI would not recommend paying a ransom without proof of life,” she continued. “Like most cases, this one is simple, but everyone wants to make it complex.”
Savannah’s Defiant TODAY Return
As for Savannah, she bravely returned to the TODAY show last month. She’d spent the previous two months in Tucson desperately trying to find her mother, to no avail. Finally, Savannah decided that she needed to get back to both her job and her family, which includes her husband and two young children.
“I will not fall apart,” Savannah, 54, defiantly told her former TODAY colleague Hoda Kotb just before her return. “I will not let whoever did this take my children’s mother from them, I will not let them take my joy.”
“They will not take my sister’s joy, they will not take my brother’s joy,” she continued. “They will not take our love, they will not take our faith. But our anguish is real. We need help. We need someone to tell the truth.”
We can only hope that Elizabeth’s theory about Nancy being alive is correct. Regardless, we agree with Elizabeth that the search for Nancy must continue, even if she is no longer with us.
Please join us in saying a prayer for the return of Nancy Guthrie.