Editor's note: This column is speculative.
As you likely know by now, Nancy Guthrie, the mother of NBC's Savannah Guthrie, was allegedly kidnapped over one week ago.
If, for some unacceptable reason, you missed my daily radio program, The Kevin Downey, Jr. Show, last Friday, I mentioned how a plea by Savannah Guthrie to her mother's kidnappers reminded me of a scene from my favorite movie, The Silence of the Lambs, where a senator pleads with serial killer Buffalo Bill to free her daughter.
The eerie verbiage is, at times, verbatim:
So are we going to talk about this?
— DefiantOutlaw (@DefiantOutlawX) February 8, 2026
The first clip is from Savannah Guthrie talking about her mother, Nancy. The second clip is from the movie Silence of the Lambs in 1991.
I can’t be the only one starting to feel weird about this, right? pic.twitter.com/zGYB63S70D
As someone who has studied serial killers for years, I immediately understood why these words are used when publicly pleading for the life of someone who has been kidnapped: to make the victim a real person, and not just a symbol, or a "thing" to the captor, thus making it harder for the animal to kill his victim.
They refer to their mother as "mom" and as various synonyms for "mother." This is an attempt to play to the sympathies of the miscreant(s) who allegedly snatched the elderly woman.
FACT-O-RAMA! The Buffalo Bill character in "The Silence of the Lambs" was based on three serial killers. Do you know which three? I knew before the end of the film. I'll give the answer in the comments.
Several days after the first plea, the Guthrie family released another video, again, with carefully selected words and a completely different vibe:
🚨Guthrie family says they will pay ransom for the return of their mother
— Justin (@JustinUSA) February 7, 2026
pic.twitter.com/QEacVNzLwY
Notice also that in this latest video, Savannah Guthrie and her siblings are now holding hands. Two of them are looking downward as the video begins, with the sister to Savannah's left looking down as though she has been queued to do so. Savannah Guthrie's words reveal much, as does the body language of the three Guthrie siblings.
"We received your message, and we understand," Savannah Guthrie states with solemnity. I suspect what she "understands" is that her mother, Janet, is no longer alive, among other things.
"We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her," strikes me as a plea to return her body so that they can "celebrate" her life, i.e., hold her funeral.
"This is the only way that we will have peace," Guthrie continues, as the three siblings look downward again. "This is very valuable to us, and we will pay."
"This" is very valuable, not "she."
These words and the body language, which are almost code-like, tell me that the Guthrie siblings have accepted that their mother is gone, though it is possible the abductor(s) instructed the family not to reveal this information (see again, "We received your message, and we understand").
Various police officers involved in the kidnapping have overzealously referred to the suspect(s) as "highly intelligent," which also strikes me as significant. They are paying homage to the suspect's "intelligence" to assuage him/her/them, though I suspect the person(s) involved are not aware that modern-day abductions-for-pay rarely work out well for the kidnappers.
Demanding the $6 million in ransom in bitcoin was likely due to the belief that it is not traceable, but this is false. As per a former FBI agent I recently spoke with, Bitcoin is traceable but harder to trace than currency notes.
My completely amateur opinion is that Nancy Guthrie was snatched by someone who isn't smart but demands intellectual respect. This person may be a patsy, working for someone clever enough to know that kidnapping is a long shot, who chose a dupe to do the "dirty work."
There are piles of questions: if this abduction is a kidnapping, why speak to the suspect as though he/she/they is a serial killer? A local sheriff on the case also believes this is not a ransom case.
The deadline for the ransom is today at 5 p.m. Tucson time. The original deadline was last Thursday. The delay in the deadline suggests that the suspect(s) wanted time to make alternative plans. This could be because Nancy Guthrie, who was on blood thinners, may be dead. She may have bled out during her alleged abduction.
Key question in the Nancy Guthrie case:
— backspin (@blueteebox) February 8, 2026
Was front door locked when the family arrived to check on mom the next morning? If so, what kidnapper would lock the door behind them while taking the elderly bleeding victim out? Looks like they paused at the door & then blood tapers off. pic.twitter.com/II67JEumWS
But the blood drops almost seem staged. I see no footprints in them or smears of any type. I would imagine the attacker(s) would want to whisk their victim away quickly. These drops indicate there was a pause at the door, as though someone was taking time to lock it. But were they coming or going? Perhaps the person who was bleeding also snatched the missing doorbell camera.
Also, whose blood is it anyway?
The ransom is due on Monday at 7 p.m. EST, and as of this writing, the bitcoin ransom has not been paid.
I suspect the bad actor(s) will be known to the family.
Let me know what you suspect is happening in the comments section below.
