It is now more than a month since Nancy Guthrie vanished, when the 84-year-old was seemingly forcibly taken from her home in Tucson, Arizona. As police continue to investigate what they are treating as a kidnapping case, they have yet to make a breakthrough in the case or find any evidence of where the mother of broadcaster Savannah Guthrie may be.
One law enforcement expert has now suggested that the suspect may have left behind clues if they returned to the scene of the crime — something that many criminals do in high-profile cases.
Former Police Sergeant Explains the Importance of Monitoring Nancy Guthrie’s Home & Memorial
GettyIn an interview with Fox News, a retired police sergeant and current spokesperson for the National Police Association revealed that the suspect may return to the crime scene and leave behind evidence that could help locate him and discover where Nancy is.
“They could [have eyes on the memorial], we’re just not seeing it,” Betsy Brantner Smith explained. “They could be keeping track of it, but we’re not seeing the cameras.”
“In this type of situation where you have the potential for a suspect having done this because he or she is somehow obsessed with Savannah Guthrie or seeing Nancy featured on the ‘Today’ show multiple times… someone who is obsessed with notoriety, celebrity — there’s a lot of pathology involved in that,” Brantner Smith added.
She continued, “Potentially, that is the type of person that could come back to the memorial, look at the memorial, even take photos of the memorial and add to the memorial themselves.”
When asked about why it appears as if law enforcement officers were no longer actively monitoring the site, Smith responded, “It may be because they have solid suspects, and they just haven’t released that information to the public.”
Important Evidence Could Be Left at the Memorial
GettySmith revealed that it is common for criminals to return to the crime scene and that they may even leave behind vital evidence that could aid the investigation to track the suspect down.
“Sometimes the offender will come back to the scene of the crime. So, in that vein, they would come to the memorial, and they may have left their own note, their own flowers,” she said. “I am guessing that the suspect or suspects who did this are frankly taking great pride in the fact that so far they’ve got away with it. Coming back can also be a way to bring back that rush that they had when they originally committed the crime.”
Smith added, “We’ve got to look at the psychology of people who do this kind of stuff. They also may want to come back to see what kind of people are leaving notes and leaving flowers.”
“They’re coming back to see the impact that they had on this neighborhood and on this family,” she said. “And the rest of us would view that as very sick, but law enforcement has to view that as a way to collect clues.”
