Chicago’s Morning Answer hosts Amy Jacobson and Jim Iuorio, filling in for Dan Proft, welcomed back Paul Huebl, a private investigator, former Chicago police officer, and Army veteran, to discuss developments in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie, who vanished from her Tucson-area home in an apparent abduction earlier this year. The hosts noted that while an arrest has been made in connection with the case, it involves fraudulent ransom communications rather than the disappearance itself, after a California man pleaded guilty to sending fake ransom messages to the Guthrie family in the days following Nancy’s disappearance.
Huebl said he was not surprised the notes turned out to be fabricated, explaining that kidnapping for ransom is exceedingly rare and that the circulating letters sent to television stations and celebrity gossip outlets never struck him as credible. He said opportunistic actors frequently emerge during high-profile missing persons cases hoping to extract money or attention from grieving families, and suggested there may be additional individuals who attempted similar scams beyond the one who has already pleaded guilty.
Asked for his own theory of the case, Huebl said he believes the abduction was most likely either a burglary that escalated into violence or a premeditated act tied to someone within Nancy Guthrie’s inner circle who had knowledge of her financial situation. He said he sees no realistic possibility that Guthrie remains alive, citing evidence that she was removed from her home while bleeding and criticizing what he described as a chaotic initial law enforcement response that assigned inexperienced investigators to the case early on.
Huebl also addressed public speculation surrounding an unidentified individual seen approaching Guthrie’s property around the time of her disappearance, often referred to online as “the porch guy.” He said it remains unclear whether that individual was a local resident, which would make identification easier, or someone connected to Guthrie who did not live in the immediate area. He noted that investigators have reportedly focused attention on a troubled neighbor and seized a vehicle as part of the ongoing investigation, though he cautioned that an arrest in that specific line of inquiry remains speculative.
Discussing where investigators might ultimately search for Guthrie’s remains, Huebl pointed to abandoned mining sites in the surrounding area of Arizona, explaining that such sites have historically been used to dispose of bodies due to the difficulty and danger involved in searching collapsed or gas-filled shafts. He said he does not believe Guthrie was targeted specifically because of her daughter’s public profile, characterizing the crime as more likely either an inside job or a situation of opportunity involving someone with prior access to the property, such as a delivery worker.
The interview closed with a brief, unrelated discussion of a new Army policy allowing servicemembers over 30 to be tested for low testosterone, with the military covering treatment costs for those who qualify. Huebl, an Army veteran himself, said he supports efforts to address what he views as broader testosterone deficiency in society.