A former FBI agent suggests that investigators should consider a fresh perspective in unraveling the mysterious case of Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance.

Jonny Grusing, who spent 25 years with the FBI’s Denver Division handling violent crimes, missing persons, and serial killers, proposes a new theory. He is also known for his book, “The Devil I Knew: Unmasking a Serial Killer,” which recounts the true crime story of Scott Kimball.

Grusing emphasizes that his insights are based solely on publicly available information and hopes his theory might trigger a memory in someone who could provide crucial information.

Discussing the suspect’s actions on Guthrie’s doorstep, Grusing notes, “Initially, it appears with his gloved hand, he isn’t trying to remove [the camera]. Instead, it seems he’s attempting to obscure it with his right hand. He then glances around, gathers branches, and places them in front of the camera.”

Photos released on February 10, 2025, depict an unidentified individual on Nancy Guthrie’s property. (Image courtesy of the FBI)

“Is there a chance, since we don’t have audio, that he is either knocking on the door loudly or that he has pressed the ring doorbell, [that] he’s trying to get Nancy to answer the door, and he’s shielding himself from being seen as a masked person, so she will, in her confusion, open the door?” Grusing asked rhetorically.

Grusing said that if that’s the case, the suspect likely wasn’t there to rob the home. Since Guthrie lives in a sprawling residential area, Grusing also believes it unlikely that the suspect was a robber who accidentally showed up at the wrong address.

Rather, he said, the suspect might have been there because he had a personal grievance against Guthrie, and might have lured her out of the home onto her porch.

Drops of blood appear to be on the front entrance to Nancy Guthrie’s home in Tucson, Arizona, Tuesday, February 3, 2026. Guthrie was last seen on Saturday night. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)

The possibility makes even more sense, Grusing said, when considering that blood was found spattered on Guthrie’s front porch and down the driveway, and authorities have not released any information about whether there was blood found inside the home.

The suspect also wore a gun in what is believed to be a cheap Walmart holster, and wore it on the front of his body, which Grusing described as not “tactically sound.” Grusing also believes that the gunman would have had trouble firing that gun with the gloves he was wearing, and that the gun may have just been a prop to instill fear in Guthrie.

“So, if the gun’s a prop, if he’s shielding himself from being seen, if he’s actually ringing the doorbell or knocking on the door, getting her to come, he wants to confront her about something in my opinion,” said Grusing.

An undated photo of Nancy Guthrie and Savannah Guthrie was provided by NBC in response to the disappearance of the 84-year-old mother of the “Today” show host. (Courtesy of NBC)

Grusing has always believed that in whatever interaction Guthrie had with the suspect, something went wrong, causing him to remove her from the house. Perhaps, he said, Guthrie identified him, causing a panic. He also says the kidnap-for-ransom theory doesn’t add up, given that alleged kidnappers never reached out to the Guthrie family directly.

Grusing wouldn’t speculate on what kind of grievance someone might have had with Guthrie, or why they might have had it.

But he wants the public to consider the possibility, just in case they remember someone saying they were wronged by a person fitting Guthrie’s description.

FBI agents canvass homes near Nancy Guthrie’s home in Tucson, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. Guthrie was last seen on Saturday night as an investigation into her disappearance continues. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)

“It’s hard to be an expert in human behavior because it’s so unique to that person,” said Grusing, despite his quarter-century of experience.

“You know, I’m just trying to use the experiences of different cases and trying to apply any sort of logic to this in the hopes that someone from the public who has thought it might be someone they know whether it’s his family or whether now it’s a coworker or friend or associate or whatever, to put that one puzzle piece together that says, ‘Yes, and now I think it could be him.’”