Savannah Guthrie’s ailing 84-year-old mom likely suffered a fatal medical episode during her kidnapping — and her greedy captors were forced to dump her body because she was no longer “of value” to them once dead, according to a cold-case expert.

The kidnappers likely “underestimated” how fragile Nancy Guthrie’s health was when they carried out their sickening money grab, Brian Martin, an Indiana detective who specializes in cold cases, told NewsNation’s Brian Entin.

That left them forced to scrap their ransom plan and get rid of her body when things went “sideways” with the “Today” show host’s mom, who had a slew of major health issues, the detective suggested.

Nancy Guthrie is believed to have been kidnapped from her home in Tucson, Arizona, on Feb. 1, 2026.
Nancy Guthrie is believed to have been kidnapped from her home in Tucson, Arizona, on Feb. 1, 2026. Courtesy NBC Universal

A masked suspect was spotted outside Nancy Guthrie's home in the early hours of Feb. 1, 2026.
A masked suspect was spotted outside Nancy Guthrie’s home in the early hours of Feb. 1, 2026. via REUTERS

“What really bothers me is if they underestimated Miss Guthrie’s health and thought, ‘Well, we’ll take her, this will be easy. We’ll hold on to her at an unknown location for a day or two. We’ll get some money out of this and we’ll leave her in a Walmart parking lot,’” Martin said.

“And what they had to do is … it sounds horrible…. They had to dispose of Miss Guthrie because she was no longer of value to them in that monetary gain that they’re hoping to get,” Martin said.

Guthrie vanished from her home in Tucson, Arizona, 67 days ago and has not been seen or heard from since.

Splatters of blood was discovered at Nancy Guthrie's front door after she was reported missing in Tucson, Arizona.
Splatters of blood were discovered at Nancy Guthrie’s front door after she was reported missing in Tucson, Arizona. BACKGRID
Police believe she was kidnapped in the middle of the night, but despite weeks of intensive investigation, no arrests have been made and no suspects have been identified.


Immediately after she disappeared, authorities were notified that she suffers from high blood pressure and cardiac issues and has a pacemaker.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos had announced the day after she was reported missing that Guthrie “is in need of medication, medication that if she doesn’t have it in 24 hours, it could be fatal.”

The timeline of the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie’s mom:


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“It just scares me to think that somebody maybe took Miss Guthrie, and she had some sort of medical event when it was happening, because obviously it’d be an incredibly stressful situation and very taxing on somebody,” Martin said.