Ex-FBI agent says Nancy Guthrie disappearance is not ‘traditional kidnapping’

A former FBI agent believes that several details surrounding Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance and her alleged abductor’s actions don’t align with a “traditional kidnapping,” as officials investigate a second message that was sent out on Friday.

“They want attention, they want the spotlight to be put on this incident,” Daniel Brunner, who worked as a special agent for 20 years, told “NewsNation Live” about the 84-year-old’s alleged captors.

Guthrie, the mother of NBC “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie, was last seen Saturday night after hanging out at a nearby relative’s home playing games and having dinner.

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NBC “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie with her mother, Nancy Guthrie, in 2020.savannahguthrie/Instagram
She is believed to have returned to her Tucson, Ariz. home just before 9:50 p.m. Family members reported her missing just after noon Saturday.

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As investigators scoured the area around her home, at least two authenticated ransom letters were sent to media outlets in the region.

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Brunner cautioned that because the messages were sent to reporters and not Guthrie’s family, the suspected abduction was about the limelight.

“The more attention this gets, the more dangerous it is for Guthrie,” the former federal investigator-turned-security group said.

Brunner was wary about the actions the abductors could take due to the virality of the case.

“Because if it gets more attention, the kidnappers may do something rash because they’re getting so nervous about the circle closing in on them,” he said.

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Former FBI agent Daniel Brunner is interviewed on the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie on Feb. 6, 2026.Newsnationnow
The first purported note, sent on Tuesday, demanded millions of dollars in Bitcoin and implemented a deadline of 5 p.m. Thursday, but claimed Guthrie was “safe but scared” and knows the exact demands for her release.

If the first deadline was missed, the letter referenced a second deadline for Monday, TMZ reported.

Federal and county officials were looking into a second message sent to Arizona-based CNN affiliate KOLD 13 News on Friday.

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Savannah Guthrie and her siblings, Annie and Camron, plead for their mother’s captors to release her on Feb. 4, 2026.via REUTERS
The new letter was sent to the outlet under a different IP address than the first note, but “contains something the senders seem to think will prove to investigators they’re the same people who sent the first note,” KOLD 13 anchor Mary Coleman reported.

It’s unclear what details were included in the new message.

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

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Nancy Guthrie’s home in Tucson, Arizona on Feb. 3, 2026.BACKGRID

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Nancy Guthrie is believed to have returned to her Tucson, Az. home just before 9:50 p.m. Family members reported her missing just after noon Saturday.FBI/AFP via Getty Images

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The FBI and Pima County Sheriff’s Department said in a joint statement that they are “actively inspecting the information provided in the message for its authenticity.”

President Trump suggested new evidence in the search could provide “definitive” answers to what happened to Guthrie.

“I think we are doing very well,” the president said on Friday of the federal response to the disappearance of the 84-year-old Arizona resident. “Very well meaning we have some clues that I think are very strong, and I think we could have some answers coming up fairly soon.”