SAVANNAH Guthrie’s emotional first TV interview since her mom’s kidnapping could spark a breakthrough in the case, an ex-FBI agent has claimed.
Savannah’s 84-year-old mother, Nancy, was snatched from her Tucson-area home in Arizona in the early morning hours of February 1.
Almost two months on, law enforcement is still unable to identify any suspects, and there is no clear motive.
Savannah sat down with colleague Hoda Kotb, who’s been filling in for her for weeks, for a heart-wrenching discussion about her mom’s disappearance and the ongoing police investigation.
She returned to the Today studios in New York City after spending a month with family in Arizona, helping in the search.
In the interview, she shared deep anguish and uncertainty, but also hope that they will still find Nancy, while continuing to urge the public to come forward with any information that could help detectives.
Jonny Grusing, a former FBI special agent, told The U.S. Sun that Savannah speaking on camera about the situation could be important for the investigation.
He feels the 54-year-old, however, should not feel she has to do all the work in finding Nancy.
“I’ve seen people like Savannah become investigators in their own right because you can’t see everything that law enforcement’s doing and you’re wondering if you can do more, if you can help, and even push… if it’s one more tip, one more lead.
“You never know what’s going to push it over the edge.
“And what she’s doing is trying to bring in that one person that we call bystanders.
“The bystander who’s holding on to information, or wondering if what they have would make them look stupid or would break their relationship with someone who might have done something.
“And then they feel, ‘This person’s not capable of doing that.’ And I think that’s what Savannah understands and why she’s still pleading. That one tip could make all the difference.
“In cases like this, we have had that one person, whether it’s a neighbor across the street, whether it’s the mom of the possible offender, and they have held on to that tip for so long.”
Jonny said he once worked on the case of a murdered young girl that investigators were struggling to solve, until a tip came in from a neighbor across the street of an offender.
“A neighbor finally called in and had just been holding on to this thought that the kid across the street just made the hair on the back of her neck stand up and he was a very dark person,” he said.
“And that’s about it. And sure enough, that kid was our suspect.
“And that’s why I say every tip, even if it doesn’t sound like it’s got all the factors of; he was at the house the night of, he wears those gloves, he does all this stuff.”
Doorbell camera footage from a Google Nest Cam is central to the investigation.
The 44-second video shows a masked, armed individual, believed to be a man, wearing a ski mask, gloves, and a backpack with a holstered gun trying to hide their identity, including using a flashlight in their mouth and attempting to block the camera.
Jonny insists someone knows something about the individual and is yet to come forward.
“We need that neighbor to call in who says, ‘There’s something off about him.’ Because there’s going to be something off.
“When this person is identified, people will go, ‘Yeah, he gave me the creeps,’ or there was something off about him, or some bad vibe.
“People are hesitant, and I’ve seen this in multiple cases, to call the cops because they are afraid they’re going to look stupid.
“They’re afraid that guy’s going to find out, and since he gives them the creeps, they don’t want to be the one who calls him in.
“And then if they have a relationship with them, if they’re friends, they’re afraid that friendship will be broken.
“There are a lot of reasons not to call in your friends, your neighbors, especially if they’re the ones giving you the creeps.
“So that’s why these pleas are almost like, let’s say, water hitting against the shore and then eventually, hopefully, that person says, ‘Okay, fine, I’m calling in.’ But it’s normally not the person you think.”
Jonny said it’s important to keep revisiting the case and keep it in the public eye, but it shouldn’t only be Savannah and her family being visible.
He said, “I don’t think that’s her responsibility. I think that’s law enforcement’s responsibility to keep briefing the public.
“One that I worked involving a 17 year old, the longer it went, the more we had to just open up more of the case to the public to try to get leads.
“I mean, maybe we’re seeing 5 per cent of the evidence right now. Maybe if it’s unsolved that law enforcement would decide to open up a little more to 10 per cent and 20.
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/16147255/savannah-guthrie-interview-missing-nancy-case/
