Nancy Guthrie Was ‘Bleeding Pretty Badly’ Outside Her Home, Forensic Scientist Believes

Savannah Guthrie’s missing mother, Nancy Guthrie, may have been bleeding a significant amount when she was believed to be taken from her home in the middle of the night.

Dr. Amy Santoro — a forensic scientist with 18 years experience, as both a crime scene investigator and laboratory analyst — appeared on the Tuesday, March 17, episode of The Megyn Kelly Show and said she believes that the 84-year-old’s blood stains outside her home are “really concerning.”

“Assuming that Ms. Guthrie is moving at somewhat of a walking pace, these blood stains show that she’s bleeding pretty quickly,” Santoro told host Megyn Kelly.

The forensic expert said that the blood spots on the porch of Nancy’s Arizona home “look like drip stains to me,” adding: “That happens when blood falls from a certain height onto a target surface like this. So what I can tell is that the blood is falling from a height probably more than 2 feet. Whether that’s from her hand, her arm, her face, I don’t think we can tell.”

However, Santoro — who doesn’t appear to be professionally linked to the ongoing Guthrie case — said she believes “it’s an indication that she is bleeding very quickly.”

“There’s so much blood out there that if you were walking, I don’t think you would see that distribution of blood with a slower bleed,” she explained. “You can see there are multiple drip stains in that area. So, unless she’s standing there stationary for a period of time, which of course is possible — although I think unlikely in an abduction — I think it shows that she really is bleeding pretty badly.”

Santoro also said on The Megyn Kelly Show that she believes Nancy could have been injured “outside” because, looking at video footage, “I really don’t see any blood in the area of the door.”

Though she is not ruling out any possibilities, Santoro said, “It doesn’t seem like the type of blood staining that you would get from a very serious injury like a gunshot.”

“We typically expect to see much smaller stains associated with a gunshot,” she said. “And then once you are bleeding from a serious injury, we do tend to see a lot more blood.”

However, she noted, “There are so many variables that can affect this.”

The Today anchor’s mother was reported missing on February 1 by family members. As the search is now in its seventh week, Nancy’s whereabouts remain unknown, and no suspects nor persons of interest have been announced.

Previous video footage released by authorities show a masked and “armed individual” appearing to tamper with the camera at Nancy’s front door the morning of her disappearance. She is described as 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs around 150 pounds; she has brown hair and blue eyes.

Savannah and her family are offering a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to the recovery of Nancy. The FBI is also offering $100,000 for information leading to Nancy “and/or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved.”

People with any information regarding the case are asked to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324). You may also contact your local FBI office, the nearest American Embassy or Consulate, or you can submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.