Former Cop Says Investigators May Have Overlooked Someone Close to Nancy Guthrie After 100 Days Missing

More than 100 days after Nancy Guthrie's disappearance, a former cop suggested that her kidnapping may have ties to people within her family's circle.

Guthrie, 84, was reported missing on February 1, 2026, after authorities alleged she was abducted from her home in Tucson, Arizona.

Retired law enforcement officer Charles Brewer, who has more than 21 years of experience, released a YouTube video on May 25 titled Nancy Guthrie Case: We May Have Been Looking At The Wrong Person, in which he discussed Nancy's case and claimed, "we've been looking in the wrong direction."

In the video released on May 25, Brewer argued that Guthrie's abduction may not have been a "celebrity-targeted" kidnapping tied directly to her daughter, the TODAY host Savannah Guthrie.

Questioning that theory, he asked, "Why has there been no meaningful ransom communication? Why leave over a million dollars untouched? Why create ransom-style messages that reportedly make little sense? Why no sustained negotiations or proof of life, no sophisticated extortion strategy?"

He suggested that money-motivated kidnappings put financial demands front and center. But in this case, "the behavior feels chaotic, disconnected, even emotionally driven, or possibly connected to something far more personal than the public originally believed," he said

Furthermore, the retired cop stated that if the public, including himself, is comfortable enough in "discussing whether this crime was connected to Savannah Guthrie's fame, her wealth, and public visibility," then "it is equally reasonable to ask whether this case may somehow connect to someone else inside NY's immediate world."

"Not necessarily family directly, but maybe somebody connected to them—like a friend, an associate, maybe a business relationship, or what about a debt? A dangerous person orbiting somewhere close to this family that nobody fully recognized at the time, because after more than 100 days, something still feels off. Something still feels untouched," he continued.

Charles Brewer's comments came amid news that Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, who is overseeing the investigation into Guthrie's disappearance, is no longer in direct contact with her family.

"I personally am not," he told People, when asked if he was in contact with Guthrie's family, adding, "If [the FBI and Nanos' detectives] they need the family for anything, they get in touch with them and the family. It works both ways."

His response came as a surprise to many, as he previously told the outlet that he was in direct contact with Savannah following her mother's abduction.

"We text or, every now and then, a phone call," he said at the time. "But no, I've not even sat down with her face-to-face. She's got a lot on her plate. The FBI and my detectives and those, they've been talking with her face-to-face. She doesn't need to talk to me."

Savannah Guthrie was reportedly "disappointed" by the shift in communication from authorities, an insider told The U.S. Sun in a recent report.

"What once felt urgent started to feel far more routine. When Savannah learned there would no longer be direct contact with the sheriff, she took that very personally. She felt the family was being pushed further away from the center of the investigation," they added.