A criminologist has pointed out a number of ‘confusing’ elements in the case of missing Nancy Guthrie, who is the 84-year-old mother of American news anchor Savannah Guthrie

Samantha with her mum Nancy Guthrie(Image: savannahguthrie/Instagram)

A criminologist has pointed out a number of ‘confusing’ elements amid the tragic case of missing Nancy Guthrie. The 84-year-old went missing from her home over a week ago, with journalist Savannah Guthrie pleading for her safe return.

In an emotional video shared online, Savannah had previously called for the safe return of her mother. In a heartbreaking video, she said: “I wanted to share my thoughts as we enter into another week in this nightmare. Thank you so much for the prayers and the love we have felt, my sister and brother and I.

“And that our mom has felt. She was taken and we don’t know where… We need your help. No matter where you are, even if you are from Tucson… We are at an hour of desperation.”

She added: “Because we believe that somehow, some way, she is feeling these prayers, and that God is lifting her in this moment and in this darkest place. We need your help, law enforcement is working round the clock tirelessly to try to find you.”

A ransom message had been sent to KOLD on Friday afternoon, with Savannah confirming the family would pay. However, criminologist David Wilson appeared on ITV’s This Morning today where he pointed out a number of confusing elements.

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Nancy went missing nearly two weeks ago(Image: Courtesy NBC Universal)

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Footage from the door camera has been made public(Image: FBI via Getty Images)

Timeline

Nancy was taken nearly two weeks ago but David has been left puzzled by the timeline. He explained: “It’s confusing in trying to establish a timeline of events. It’s been very difficult to establish. Why haven’t the family paid at the timeline seemingly requested”

Expressing his fears for the 84-year-old, he said: “Nancy was on medication, she’s 84-years-old. If she doesn’t take her medication every 24 hours, she’s going to struggle with her health. It may well be the person who abducted her took the medication with them but there was blood found on the porch.

“I get very worried the longer this goes on. In a few days time it’s going to be two weeks.”

Door camera footage

The FBI shared some footage from the door camera earlier this week – but David has been left puzzled by the delay in it being obtained and released, with the criminologist thinking something else is at play.

“I was completely mystified by how long it took to release that footage. The FBI lead has said this was because the Guthries only had one type of subscription, which means the door cam footage got destroyed after three hours and they had to go back to the people who supplied that. I didn’t accept that argument,” he told hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard.

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New footage has been revealed(Image: FBI via Getty Images)

“The door cam footage is a real gamechanger. We saw a masked man with gloves, but if you look closely, you can see he’s got a moustache and you can see he’s got a beard. There was even a tattoo below his wrist. There’s visual prove. It’s an amateurish attempt. We see how tall he is, what he’s wearing, how he’s walking. My interpretation is they kept this because something was going on.”

Motive

David is concerned about the alleged kidnapper’s motive. He explained: “Kidnap by strangers is incredibly rare, according to figures … Most of the stranger kidnaps involve children rather than someone older.

“Often, kidnap is an intra-familial phenomenon – someone in the family receives an opportunity of taking that particular individual. What’s been confusing for me is that the law enforcement would do, right from the get go, to try and establish a motive. Why has this person been kidnapped? What is the kidnapper seeking to gain? What is the benefit?”

He added: “Usually, we say there are two types of motivation – instrumental or expressive. Instrumental is some tangible benefit (like money) and expressive is the person wanting to have power and control, that’s completely different.”

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Nancy and her daughter Samantha(Image: Getty)

Ransom

A ransom was requested and notes were sent to various news outlets. He explained that the family or law enforcement officers had appeared to not see a proof of life video or photo.

“The deadline for paying the six million ransom has passed not once but twice. If there is a ransom involved, what the law enforcement and the family of the victim would request prior to payment is a proof of life,” he said.

“They would want to see a photograph, or the abductee holding a newspaper with the date on it. Something that demonstrates they’re alive. We haven’t seen that at all.”