What To Know
- Retired FBI agent Maureen O’Connell stated that jail informants and inmate communications could play a crucial role in solving the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
- O’Connell emphasized the importance of keeping investigative details confidential to distinguish genuine leads from those seeking to exploit widely known information about the case.
- Despite public appeals, released evidence, and a $1 million reward offered by Savannah Guthrie, no suspects have been identified in the ongoing investigation.
Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie‘s mother, Nancy Guthrie, is still missing almost nine months after her Tucson, Arizona, abduction — and a retired FBI agent predicted the key to cracking the case.
In the October 21 episode of Brian Entin Investigates, Brian Entin, NewsNation’s senior national correspondent, spoke with former FBI special agent Maureen O’Connell. They discussed, among other topics, the possible role inmates might play in cracking the 84-year-old’s case.
“Do you think they’re listening to jail calls?” Entin asked. “Could the jail come into play when it comes to the Nancy Guthrie investigation?”
To that, O’Connell declared, “The jail could absolutely 100 percent come into play, and it should.”
The former FBI special agent explained, “The narcotics officers at Pima County, I’m sure they’re working their jail informants. I’m sure they’re trying to develop informants. It’s what people do. Whenever people get arrested, and you have them at the police station, even, you can ask them if there’s any cases you know about.”
Additionally, O’Connell pointed out, “They all know that police are really hungry for information about Nancy. Like we all are. But the people being arrested, they know that too, and they’re gonna try to figure out a way to perhaps capitalize [on] it.”
The retired FBI agent also pointed out that this is “why it’s so important to keep so much of this stuff quiet and secretive — meaning the investigators and the investigation. ”
She explained, “Because people will come out of the woodwork, and they’ll say, ‘Hey, with regard to Nancy Guthrie, I know the guy that did it, and he threw the watch at the end of the bed.’ Well, unfortunately, everybody knows that the watch was at the end of the bed. So, you know, it’s those other bits of information that no one else knows, that as soon as you hear it, you’re like, ‘OK, let’s talk.’”
Nancy’s family reported her missing on February 1; she was last seen on the evening of January 31. Despite investigators releasing photos of a masked suspect on her front porch and publishing alleged ransom notes — and Savannah offering a $1 million reward — no suspect has been named in the case.