BREAKING: Ex-FBI Agent Urges Nancy Guthrie Investigators To Revisit 40-Year-Old Case As New Hope Begins To Emerge
Former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer still has hope for the Nancy Guthrie case, saying old missing cases prove answers can still be found years down the line.
Nancy Guthrie went missing on February 1 (Image: Charlotte Wright)
There may be some hope once again in the search for Nancy Guthrie.
The search for the 84-year-old has taken another turn after retired FBI Special Agent Jennifer Coffindaffer called for more search operations in the case.
In a post on X, Jennifer urged investigators against the decision to stop looking for the missing mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie, pointing to another decades-old case that was eventually solved. It comes after an intruder broke into the set of NBC’s Today show this week.
Nancy disappeared from her multi-million dollar Catalina Foothills home near Tucson, Arizona, on January 31. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI are still investigating the case, and no suspect has been identified so far.
Jennifer shared her views in a July 17 post on X, comparing Nancy’s disappearance with the case of Thelma Gaston, whose remains were identified decades after she went missing.
Nancy is the mother of Savannah Guthrie (Image: NBC/Today Show / BACKGRID)
She explained, “Thelma Gaston/Nancy Guthrie. Thelma was a millionaire who went missing 40 years ago when she was 80 YO. Her remains were finally found near Sugarloaf Mountain in a desolate area.
“She was murdered by her paramour, Lawrence Remsen, who received life for killing her,” she added.
She then noted why she believes search teams should continue looking for the beloved grandmother and mother. “This is exactly why searches need to be conducted for Nancy. Unless they know where she is, search that desert.”
Jennifer referred to Thelma’s case because, according to The New York Times, her remains were identified through advanced DNA testing decades after she disappeared in 1981.
On Wednesday, July 14, 45 years after the disappearance, the sheriff’s office in Riverside County, California, east of Los Angeles, announced that officials had positively identified a female homicide victim as Thelma.
The remains were found on November 28, 1981, just months after Thelma vanished, when a person gathering firewood in the Santa Rosa Mountains near Palm Springs discovered a shallow grave with a severely decomposed body.
The authorities were not able to make an identification at the time. But in May 2026, investigators were finally able to make a positive match using DNA testing, genetic genealogy, and dental records, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
The retired FBI agent is hopeful that even old missing-person cases can still be solved if investigators continue searching. Nancy was last seen on the evening of January 31 at her home in Catalina Foothills after enjoying a dinner at her daughter Annie’s house.
Investigators believe she was abducted during the early hours of February 1, and the investigation has remained active ever since. The case is being handled jointly by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI.
