Nancy Guthrie update: Ex-FBI asks five key questions as Pima County police trash ‘wrench attack’ theory

Nancy Guthrie was reported missing by her family on February 1 and her whereabouts remain unknown. Authorities believe she was taken from the home the night before. In the search for “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie’s 84-year-old mother, a “wrench attack‘Theories have emerged.

This theory assumes Guthrie Became the target of a hired attacker who worked for a remote “mastermind” in an attempt to extort money from the family. Now, with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department outright denying the theory, a former FBI agent is raising key questions in the Nancy Guthrie case.

FBI Special Agent Jennifer Coffindaffer noted that CertiK has officially classified Nancy Guthrie’s kidnapping as a “wrench attack.”

CertiK is a blockchain security company, famous “Journalist Savannah Guthrie’s 84-year-old mother was kidnapped over a $6 million Bitcoin ransom demand, illustrating trends in agent targeting identified in our 2025 report.” However, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, which handled the case, has denied this theory.

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“The Pima County Sheriff’s Department has not received any reports of a ‘wrench strike’ in our community…The investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie remains active. When significant updates become available, they will be shared publicly,” former FBI agents were quoted as saying.

Another retired FBI agent, Jason Pack challenge this theory Earlier this month, he said it was impossible for anyone outside the investigation to zero in on all the details of the “wrench attack” theory. Coffendaver noted, however, that the police response confused her.

The former FBI agent then asked five key questions in the kidnapping case.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department has not released much information about the case other than removing members of the Guthrie family from its list of suspects.

Coffendaver then asked more questions about the case. “Is this beyond their experience?” the former FBI further asked the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. She also asked her former employer “if not, is the bureau investigating?”

The FBI is assisting Pima County police on the case. Forensic evidence from the kidnapping is currently being tested at the FBI laboratory. Coffendaver doubled down and asked the FBI: “If not, is it because they know who is behind this horrific crime?”

Notably, no suspects have been publicly named. The suspect only released a photo of the masked man seen on Guthrie’s porch. At the end of the question, the former FBI agent asked: “How can you say this wasn’t a Wrench attack if they don’t know who kidnapped Nancy?”.

So while authorities apparently didn’t consider the “wrench strike” theory, the former FBI agent raised questions about why it was beyond the realm of possibility in Guthrie’s kidnapping case.