Elizabeth Smart shares surprising theory on Nancy Guthrie kidnapping

Elizabeth Smart, a former kidnapping victim and advocate, told CNN that 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, missing from her Arizona home since Feb. 1, could still be alive, emphasizing the need to keep searching. She referenced her own nine‑month captivity and other long‑term cases while also discussing her fitness journey. The piece notes ongoing criticism of the investigation by FBI Director Kash Patel as the case approaches 100 days.

Elizabeth Smart is weighing in on the disappearance of "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie's mom Nancy, more than three months after the 84-year-old went missing.

Smart, the child abduction survivor-turned-advocate, shared a surprising take on Nancy Guthrie's suspected kidnapping during a CNN interview Tuesday, May 5.

"She could absolutely still be alive," Smart told CNN's Erin Burnett of the Guthrie matriarch.

The comment came after Burnett brought up the missing Nancy Guthrie and connected it to Smart's own kidnapping case.

"When you were missing and the reason everyone knows your face, everyone wondered. And then it was, 'Well, it's been months, and maybe the worst has happened.' And you came back, and here you are," Burnett said.