Fox News Guest Raises Grim Possibility in Nancy Guthrie Case
A former senior NYPD official delivered a sobering assessment on Fox News over the weekend, suggesting that the continued silence from those claiming to have kidnapped Nancy Guthrie may point to a disturbing reality: they may be unable to provide proof that she is still alive.
During an appearance on Fox News’s The Big Weekend Show, retired NYPD Inspector Paul Mauro offered his analysis based on the limited public facts surrounding the case.
“Well, you’re elusive on the communications because you know you’re going to be asked for proof of life that you can’t provide,” Mauro said.
The statement landed heavily with the show’s co-hosts. Joey Jones audibly groaned off camera, while Tomi Lahren reacted with a long sigh.
Mauro elaborated that the behavior surrounding the ransom demands suggests improvisation rather than a controlled plan.
“I feel like they’ve been playing games with the details in the house and all of that,” he said. “They probably planned for the idea that they could provide proof of life, and now they find themselves in a spot where, ‘We can’t. And so what do we do? Now we gotta bargain for something else. We gotta bargain to give back something else.’”
While emphasizing that his interpretation was speculative, Mauro stressed the seriousness of the implications.
“That’s my read with the limited facts we have, hoping against hope I’m wrong,” he said, adding that the entire situation could still “all be a hoax.”
Lahren pressed Mauro on whether he believed the abductors may not have initially intended to harm Guthrie but lost control of the situation.
“Would you say… that they didn’t mean to hurt her, but something might have gone wrong, and now they’re still trying to get their payday out of this. Is that what I heard you kind of allude to?” she asked.
Mauro pointed to another troubling factor: Guthrie’s medical needs. He noted that her reliance on specific medications could have created complications for the kidnappers, especially if acquiring them risked attracting attention.
As the investigation intensifies, federal agents were seen Sunday searching a septic tank at Guthrie’s Tucson, Arizona, home—just hours ahead of a reported $6 million ransom deadline set for Monday night. Witnesses reported deputies using long poles to probe the tank while shining flashlights inside.
Law enforcement experts have also raised questions about the authenticity and origin of the ransom demands. According to investigators, the ransom note’s insistence that payment be made in Bitcoin but explicitly valued in U.S. dollars could suggest the perpetrators are operating outside the country.
“Why would you use that if you’re a domestic person? That points to somebody who might be potentially outside the country, which also lends the potential for this being a scam,” former FBI agent Michael Harrigan told the New York Post.
“If you’re domestic, why would you ever put ‘USD?’ You put six million,” he added.
The ransom note outlined two payment deadlines, with the demanded amount increasing after an initial Thursday cutoff and again by a Monday deadline. Despite the note being circulated to media outlets last week, the sender has made no further contact with either law enforcement or the Guthrie family.
Authorities have yet to identify any suspects, persons of interest, or suspect vehicles.
“Detectives and agents continue to conduct follow-up at multiple locations. Details of that follow-up are not being released at this time,” the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement Sunday.
Eight days have now passed since Nancy Guthrie vanished. As another deadline approaches, her family has gone public with emotional pleas for her safe return.
On Saturday, Today show anchor Savannah Guthrie appeared in a video alongside her siblings, Camron and Annie, addressing those holding their mother.
“We received your message and we understand,” Guthrie said. “We beg you now to return our mother to us, so that we can celebrate with her.”
“This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay,” she added.
In an effort to expand the search, billboards featuring Nancy Guthrie’s image have been placed in high-traffic areas across states neighboring Arizona. Meanwhile, police activity continued Sunday at Annie Guthrie’s home, where officers were seen leaving with evidence bags as the investigation entered its seventh day.