At first glance, it looked like a heartbreaking mystery with few answers. Now, investigators and experts are pointing to disturbing signs that suggest this may have been planned long before anyone realized.As the search for Savannah Guthrie’s missing mother, Nancy Guthrie, stretches into its fifth day, the narrative is quietly shifting. What once seemed like a sudden disappearance is starting to look far more deliberate.During a tense press conference on Thursday, February 5, 2026, authorities confirmed something investigators could no longer ignore.There was no usable DNA recovered from the Arizona home where Nancy vanished.

That absence immediately stood out to former CIA officer and FBI special agent Tracy Walder, who said the lack of forensic evidence raised early concerns for investigators. Also, in Walder’s view, the lack of DNA suggested an effort to avoid leaving anything behind. Walder said:At that point, it was less about what investigators found and more about what they didn’t.Walder explained that even a brief struggle typically leaves something behind.Skin cells, blood, or fibers are almost always transferred during close contact. “I understand that she’s 84 and not of the best health, but human nature is to respond,” Walder said, adding that DNA “could have gone places.”The fact that nothing usable was recovered suggested, in her view, that the intruder may have anticipated that risk. That level of foresight rarely happens on impulse.