Nancy Guthrie Update: FBI Reportedly Getting Closer to ‘Porch Guy’ Arrest

A retired FBI agent is confident that the suspect in the Nancy Guthrie case will soon be arrested.

In an interview with Megyn Kelly, Maureen O’Connell revealed that investigators are closing in on the man known as the “porch guy.”

“I think they’re close right now to pulling this case together—that’s what my sources are telling me,” O’Connell told Kelly. “Things are happening.”

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Nancy Guthrie Update: Retired FBI Explains Why It’s Taking So Long

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O’Connell also explained one of the potential reasons why the arrest of Nancy Guthrie’s abductor is taking a long time.

“One of the reasons it’s taking so long is because whatever defense attorney takes this investigation and represents whoever they charge in this case, you have to operate under the assumption, like from day 1, you’re doing your trial prep,” the retired FBI agent explained.

O’Connell continued, “You’re going to have the greatest defense attorney in the world handling this case, whoever takes this case. So, you have to operate under the assumption that a couple of big chunks of your evidence may get tossed.”

When asked how confident she is that investigators were nearing a breakthrough in the search for the “porch guy,” O’Connell responded, “75%.”

“I think we’re getting closer. I actually really do think they are getting closer,” she added. “I think they’re getting close to the ‘porch guy.’ And when they get the porch guy, the floodgates will swing open.”

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What Happens If Nancy Guthrie’s Body is Not Found?

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Meanwhile, volunteers searched an area near the Arizona-Mexico border after receiving an anonymous tip that Nancy Guthrie’s remains might be buried there. The effort ultimately came up empty, raising concerns about the challenges of pursuing the case without a body.

Experts previously told Newsweek that a no-body case is still legally viable, provided investigators can present sufficient circumstantial and forensic evidence to establish that Guthrie is deceased and that a criminal act caused her disappearance.

Criminal defense attorney Michael T. van der Veen explained that a multi-agency search for Guthrie could help establish the “body of the crime,” even without physical remains.

“Prosecutors can prove it circumstantially because judges give a jury instruction… that circumstantial evidence is just as strong or stronger than direct evidence,” van der Veen told the outlet. “Through the circumstantial evidence, the prosecutor can prove the corpus delicti, or ‘body of the crime.'”

He also added that Guthrie’s age and medical condition make voluntary disappearance highly unlikely. “She was 84 years old with a pacemaker and required daily medication,” van der Veen noted. “The odds that she voluntarily went missing are very low.”

Meanwhile, former police officer and criminal investigation professor Daniel K. Maxwell elaborated that investigators must first prove a homicide occurred even without a body before tying a specific person to the alleged crime.

“The essential elements to prove… are that a crime has been committed and the person arrested was responsible for the crime,” Maxwell told Newsweek. “This would also include eliminating all non‑criminal causes.”