Nearly six months into the search for Nancy Guthrie, a veteran crime scene investigator says the ransom notes at the center of the case don't hold up - and she's pointing to a detail investigators have flagged for months: blood found on the front porch.
Sheryl McCollum, a longtime Atlanta-area CSI, told NewsNation's Jesse Weber Live this week that the notes read less like a real ransom demand and more like something written after the fact. "It starts with a greeting, 'hello, Savannah.' That's not a demand. That's not urgency," she said. She also questioned the second note's claim that Guthrie died and was "buried in nature," calling the phrase hollow. "Everybody's buried in nature. If you're buried, you're in nature," McCollum said. "It just does not ring true to me."
Her biggest concern is the blood evidence. DNA testing has confirmed blood on Nancy's front porch belongs to her, but McCollum says the notes never address it. "If everything you did was in the back, how did her blood get on the front porch? Explain that," she said.
Nancy, 84, mother of "Today" co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, was last seen at her Catalina Foothills home on January 31 and reported missing the next day after she failed to appear for a Sunday church livestream - something her family has said she never missed. The case, now classified as a homicide investigation, remains open with no suspect named. The FBI has said some of the ransom communications received are considered "potentially legitimate," while others have been traced to unrelated hoaxes.
Through nearly six months without answers, the Guthrie family's faith has stayed visible throughout. Savannah has repeatedly thanked the public for their prayers on air, and supporters have continued to gather in prayer for Nancy's safe return as the case nears its six-month mark on August 1.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or Tucson's 88-Crime tip line at 520-882-7463.
Related Article: Elizabeth Smart Urges "Reason to Have Hope" - "We Shouldn't Give Up"
