Savannah Guthrie’s Video Plea Shows Fading Hopes of Finding Nancy, Ex-FBI Agent Says

After Savannah Guthrie shared a video plea on Instagram on February 9, Former Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent Jonny Grusing said investigators may believe the chances of finding her mother, Nancy Guthrie alive are diminishing.

“That jumped out at me that she greeted, ‘Hi there everyone,’ instead of talking to the supposed kidnappers,” said Grusing, who served as a special agent with the Denver FBI for 25 years.

“The plea was more toward, 'did you see anything, did you hear anything? Please come forward. Don’t be afraid to come forward,'” Grusing said in an interview with Fox News Digital.

Grusing said investigators face a barrier because tipsters often believe what they saw or heard is not important enough or could waste investigators' time.

Savannah Guthrie said she believes her mother is alive. “We believe our mom is still out there. We need your help. Law enforcement is working tirelessly to bring her home. I am asking you to report to law enforcement any strange things that you notice immediately. We are in an hour of desperation,” she said in the video.

Grusing said the tactic of having Savannah Guthrie speak directly to the public to solicit tips likely reflects a lack of identified suspects and concern that Nancy Guthrie may be running out of time.

“And it is a very personal plea,” he said. “They’re trying as best as they can to find that bystander who knows something or someone, and get that direct plea that will pull on your heartstrings, and say, ‘you know what, screw feeling stupid or whatever else, I need to help this family even if it means I might not have right information.’”

“I think it sounds like they have been briefing Savannah Guthrie about chances and likelihood that her mom’ is doing okay, because she did say Nancy somehow feels the thoughts and prayers” Grusing said.

“The wording of that I think is intentional as well. The numbers don’t look good at this point for (Nancy) doing okay, so I think that’s another plea to the public, where we have an individual who might still be around with us, and just not in a good state right now, and we need your information right away.”

Meanwhile, former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent Tim Roemer said investigators are likely waiting for one “human error” that could help solve the case of Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance.

Roemer, who also served as director of the Arizona Department of Homeland Security, commented on federal efforts to track individuals who reportedly sent ransom messages to newsrooms.

“The most important thing here is human error,” Roemer said in an interview to Fox 10. “I really think whoever is behind this and behind the email is going to make a mistake, not utilizing the right kinds of technology, and that one mistake is going to be what gets them caught.”