What To Know
- Crime scene investigator Sheryl McCollum criticized the handling of Nancy Guthrie’s abduction case.
- The FBI acknowledged receiving several ransom notes, some of which were deemed illegitimate extortion attempts, while others are still under investigation.
- McCollum emphasized the family’s distress and lack of clear information.
A crime scene investigator recently explained why the Nancy Guthrie investigation is “so botched” as Today co-host Savannah Guthrie‘s 84-year-old mother remains missing more than five months after she was abducted in Tucson, Arizona.
On July 1, active crime scene investigator Sheryl McCollum, who is based in metro Atlanta, shared her insight into Nancy’s case during an appearance on NewsNation’s Jesse Weber Live.
“This investigation is so botched,” McCollum declared. “You have not seen Savannah and her family on the same podium as the FBI and the Pima County Sheriff. They should have been standing together, making statements, from day one. And we haven’t seen that yet.”
She added, “They’re not on the same page. It’s really sad to see this.”
McCollum’s commentary came after FBI Phoenix shared a statement on X acknowledging that it had received “several” ransom notes — some of which it “deemed to be extortion attempts without legitimacy,” while others “may potentially be legitimate and are still being investigated as such. The bureau added that it “continues to be investigated as a kidnapping for ransom case.”
The FBI’s statement came on the heels of a June 30 Reuters report in which an unnamed FBI official claimed that none of the ransom notes sent about Nancy were legitimate.
When asked about the effects on Savannah and her siblings, Annie Guthrie and Camron Guthrie, of the mixed reporting, McCollum didn’t hold back.
“Can you imagine?” she replied. “Nobody has told them the straight-up truth. Nobody has shown them, ‘Hey, this is the playbook we’re using. This is how we’re going after these people, or this single person.’ Which, I still believe it’s a single individual.”
McCollum continued, “[Savannah] is still left with, is it one person or three? Is she alive? Is she not alive? If she died, when did she die? Is she buried? Where is she buried? I mean, they know nothing. There’s no comfort. There’s no answers. And the reality for everybody: There is somebody out there that took an 84-year-old woman, while she was bleeding, from her home.”
Nancy was last seen at her Tucson home on January 31. As of writing, no suspect has been named in the case.