In My Hometown

Nancy Guthrie Case Update & Inside NewsNation’s Missing Persons Series with Marni Hughes

• Jamie Stein

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0:00 | 47:12

The disappearance of Nancy Guthrie has captured national attention. But for NewsNation anchor Marni Hughes, her case is part of a much bigger mission: shining a light on missing persons cases that too often fly under the radar.

Marni joins Jamie and Pascal to share the latest developments in the Nancy Guthrie case and take us inside NewsNation’s “Missing” series. She opens up about why this work has become so important to her, the cases and families that have stayed with her, and what she has learned from sitting across from people living with unimaginable uncertainty.

Can media attention actually help bring someone home? Why do some missing persons cases become national stories while others struggle to be seen? And what happens when the headlines fade but families are still searching?

It’s a powerful conversation—and a reminder of the persistence, hope, and difference we can make by keeping these stories alive.


Chapters:
00:00 - Intro: Meeting Marni Hughes 
00:35 - Nancy Guthrie Case: The Latest Updates 
02:54 - The Ransom Note Controversy & FBI Retraction 
05:54 - $1 Million Reward & The Guthrie Family Power 
08:02 - Behind the Scenes: Reporting from Arizona 
09:32 - Targeted? The Role of Notoriety & TMZ 
13:35 - Amy Hilyard: The Oakland Coffee Shop Owner Case 
17:15 - The Reality of Adult Disappearances & Mental Health 
19:43 - Ally Lowitzer: A 16-Year Mystery Revisited 
22:51 - The Scale of Missing Persons in the USA 
23:51 - Success Stories: How NewsNation Found a Trafficked Teen 
26:06 - International Cases: Jimmy Gracey in Barcelona 
28:08 - Danger Abroad & The "Invincibility" of Youth 
31:26 - James Weston Higginbotham: The Search in Japan 
34:10 - The Toll of Reporting on Tragedy 
36:52 - Expert Advice: What to do if a Loved One Goes Missing 
37:56 - Inside Crime Con: The True Crime Community 
40:48 - Cold Cases vs. Active Investigations 
42:19 - The Future of DNA & Genetic Genealogy 
45:51 - The Legacy of Gabby Petito & The Missing Series 
47:04 - Outro: Final Thoughts with Marni Hughes

SPEAKER_02

Every year, thousands of people go missing, leaving families searching for answers and hoping someone will keep their story of their loved one alive. Our guest today has made it her mission to keep these cases in the spotlight. News Nation morning news anchor Marnie Hughes joins us to talk about the latest developments in the Nancy Guthrie case, other cases she's covering, and why this is so important. You're in my hometown with Jamie and Pascal. Welcome, Marnie. We're so happy that you're here joining us today. Pleasure, thank you. So let's start with Nancy Gus Guthrie, because there has been so much in the news recently about this case. And it has really it's it's fascinating, right? Um what there's been some developments about the ransom notes, and um where where are we now? Give us an update.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, well, I wish I had a great update. Um I think what's interesting about this case is it's unsolved five months in, given the high-profile nature of Nancy's disappearance. I mean, the fact that this woman, 84 years old, was abducted in the middle of the night as she slept in her bed, which is our safest place, you think, um, taken by a masked man and whoever else on her front porch, um, is such a tragic mystery. Because of the national attention that Nancy's case got, um, that's a good thing. The more people that see this case, that share this case, that push for answers in this case is a good thing in missing person cases because many cases don't get even a fraction of the attention that Nancy's gets. The other thing that's really great about her case in terms of investigative liaes or benefits is the fact that they have all this evidence. They have the man on the porch with the gun and the mask and the gloves. They have the blood at the doorstep. Um, they have a lot to go on. Despite that, though, they don't have the suspect. So here we are, five months in, and we've got this: are the ransom notes real? Was it a kidnapping for ransom? Um, who took her, why, where, what? Um, we're at a pretty frustrating point for I think the public for sure, as we watch this case. I can't imagine the agony that Nancy's family is going through right now with unanswered questions and whether or not she's alive or not. Where I land on this case is it's still an active and open investigation. We don't have definitive answers, whether or not she's alive or dead. So I operate in she's alive, let's hold out hope, and let's continue to search for her. I mean, we know the reality is that's probably unlikely, but put yourself in the family's shoes for a moment and think about what they're going through. And that's how I approach every missing case. Um the ransom notes has been the latest development. The FBI, in an interview with Reuters, came out and said they're not real. Then they retracted that, and the FBI came out and said they are real. We don't know, is the fact of the matter.

SPEAKER_00

But with with all our new technology, our DNA, our uh camera surveillance, our uh neighbor, our social media, uh, we weren't able to put pieces together. And uh also I don't think it was any struggles in Nancy's house when she was kidnapped, am I right?

SPEAKER_01

We don't know that. They have not shared. I mean, there there was blood on the store the doorstep. So whether that was in the pursuit of a struggle. I mean, if they if you take somebody from their bed in the middle of the night, I have to imagine.

SPEAKER_00

I mean, I would imagine there would be a struggle in the house, furniture would be moved, there will be evidence of a kidnapping.

SPEAKER_02

They haven't really released the case.

SPEAKER_00

They haven't released anything, which I think it's very bizarre because usually they they show the sum of the the the side of the crime and show the disturbance. And there was nothing like that. So I'm a little confused about the all that case as well.

SPEAKER_01

Well, I will give there was missteps in the investigation. The fact that they opened up that crime scene so early was not a good thing. I mean, you need to protect an investigation for as long as you can, as best as you can. And there were media walking up to the front door, so evidence could have been tampered with or lost. Um, so that's a bad thing. Um, but in terms of what they know, I'd love to know what her bedroom looked like, what evidence they're still evaluating in terms of DNA. What I'll say to that is the Idaho murder case. Remember that tragic scene and those four college students who were killed. Investigators in that case had a lot of evidence that they didn't share with the media, and months went by, and we didn't have an in a conclusive answer, and then boom, they have a suspect, they make an arrest, and then all of this evidence comes to light. So you don't know what they're sitting on to protect the integrity of the investigation.

SPEAKER_02

So we're hoping that that's the that that is the case, but it does seem from what um from what we as a viewer, it seems that between the FBI and the local police and the Guthrie family, it seems that they're not necessarily all aligned. I don't know if you read it that way.

SPEAKER_01

I think that's fair. I think that's fair. And I think I think about Nan or about Savannah a lot in her role and what she has accomplished as a journalist, as a lawyer. She's in a position where she almost always has control and what it must feel like for her to not have control and to have to trust investigators. Um, I don't know about you guys, but if my loved one was missing, I'd want to take control. I'd want to know everything as soon as possible and what can I do and how fast can I do it? And I would imagine that's a very uncomfortable, unusual space for her to be in. Um, there were some reports that they had hired their own private investigators. We have since learned that that's not the case. So the family is still leaning on the sheriff and the FBI to try to chase down leads. But I think what makes this situation unique is they're offering a million dollars still, dead or alive, to bring Nancy home. So that's where Savannah still has power over whomever is responsible for this. I think that's also a benefit to the case that they're still dangling that carrot in front of whoever is responsible or who knows something.

SPEAKER_00

Does she have a medical record where she needed some medication? Uh, and the and that was crucial for the the her well-being, am I right?

SPEAKER_01

They have not shared, probably for health privacy reasons, the extent of her health issues. Um, but I know she had the pacemaker, which they have traced back. Um, the other thing is she was she struggled to walk longer distances. So that's the only thing that I've heard publicly shared about the specifics of her case. She was also 84. So add that to the mix. Um, but they haven't, as far as a heart condition, said exactly what she was challenged with health-wise.

SPEAKER_00

But do they say then the first 24 to 48 hours are crucial into a case? Yeah. I mean, after the 48 hours, the leads start fading away and it's much more difficult to refund to find evidence.

SPEAKER_01

It is, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00

And it's been a while now.

SPEAKER_01

It's been five months, more than five months. So that is one of the realities that you're dealing with in this case. Um, and the fact that no one has come forward to claim a ransom leads you to believe that she didn't survive. That was at least one of the theories is that they abducted her, they kidnapped her for money, but then she died in the process, even it was an altercation or a struggle, and then they panicked. And so they've gone into hiding and they don't feel like they can collect on the money. Or if in fact she's dead, then they just want to go into hiding and hope it goes away.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I just think you brought this up a couple minutes ago. The the technology, the fact that in those first couple of days they had this man on the step, right, futzing around with the chimera.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

I was like, oh my God, they're gonna get this guy. And then they were they were doing the detective work of tracking down um, you know, the backpack and the gloves. And it just, it just seemed to stall. And it just is so it's heart-wrenching, which I'm sure so many of these cases are, but um, I just don't, I really don't get it. And you were in uh Arizona, right? You went there to cover the story. What was it like in those couple of first days there?

SPEAKER_01

It was eerie to be there. I mean, to to land there and go straight to her house. Um, one thing that stood out to me immediately from her home is how um how out there it is. I mean, it's very, it's a very sprawling community. There's lots of hills and turns, there's lots of ways in and out of the neighborhood. And what struck me is one, it's pitch black at night. They have no street lights. So the only light you'd have is from the homes. And a lot of them are on an acre property, so they're kind of set back, but that it wasn't an accident is what I immediately thought.

SPEAKER_00

I believe also, I think I've seen sometimes where even the navigation system of your car couldn't lead you to the house because it's so there is so many roads. So, so do you think that somebody who had knowledge of her or somebody who knew her? Because that's very hard to find a house.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, that's my theory, and it's just a theory. Um, but having been there, I don't think you stumble on that house by random. No. You have that house as a target, and you show up there because you've researched it and you know who lives there and you know what you're doing. So that is my theory is this was no accident. I tend to believe that's what investigators and the Guthrie family feel as well. I've watched the interviews that Savannah has done, and she does think her mom was targeted because of her and because of her notoriety and because of her wealth, which is hard to grasp.

SPEAKER_02

So hard. So hard. What is your take on TMZ and their sort of becoming part of the story of it? Do you, as a as an Ingarn and journalist?

SPEAKER_01

What do you say about it? Well, I think TMZ has become a source of good tabloid information. Um, I do think they follow up on a lot of facts, and so I take them more seriously than I take other tabloids, but it has become a bit of a circus. And I think it pulls away from the investigation if TMZ is getting ransom notes. Now, whether they're real or not, I would say anytime there's a new development in the case, it should go through law enforcement. I'm kind of old school that way. Um, and I don't think that whoever did this is going to send notes to a local TV station or to TMZ to get the ransom. I mean, you go directly to the family or you go to law enforcement. So it's un, it's an unusual case for all of those reasons. But I will say TMZ has had a lot of good uh updates on the case. And if anything, they're keeping attention on it, which is always a good thing.

SPEAKER_02

And it this has captured so like enormous interest from the public. Is it is it because of Savannah? What would do you think is the real reason?

SPEAKER_01

I think it's all of the circumstances. I think that it's because it's Savannah and people know her. I think it's also because it's Nancy, an 84-year-old grandmother, kidnapped in the middle of the night. It's hard to not think about your own loved ones, especially elderly loved ones, um, feeling safe in their homes, living by themselves, and to have the nightmare of being woken up in the middle of the night by a stranger who is trying to take you. Um, probably in it's violent. Um, it's incomprehensible the type of evil that somebody possesses to do this, to come up with this plan and then to carry it out. So I think for all of those reasons, it has ballooned into such a big story. And then I think the missteps in the investigation also uh made this story more um had people had more of an appetite for it. The blood drops on the front porch, the fact that our reporter at News Nation was the person who got that video. He walked up to the front door. Brian Enton has been on this case since the very beginning. I think for all of those reasons, this case has right risen to that higher level. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

But do you think then again, she's uh she's got a daughter who's extremely famous, she's on TV. If she didn't have that notoriety, if she didn't have that fame, do you think we would have put that much attention into that case? Because there is a lot of people missing, you know, I mean, do you think a fame got that national attention?

SPEAKER_01

Right. So, like what other famous people's family members are at risk? Yeah. I mean, I hope none. Um, I don't know. I mean, I think it goes back to what I said. It's a it's a pure evil that somebody would do this. I think what was also unique about the Guthrie case is Savannah was very open about her family and had her mom on the show a lot. They visited Tucson recently. So there's one theory that it's somebody local who was familiar with the house, was familiar with Nancy and where she lived. I mean, all of it is just theories, um, but investigatively, they have to chase everything. They can't rule anything out at this point. Um, I am still hopeful that they're on to something. And we just don't know yet, know yet. The one thing that's outstanding is still the DNA. They have partial DNA from something in the room. If they can use genetic genealogy to try and track down that person through family, those are the kinds of cases that after five months, five years, 20 years still get solved. So the person or people who are responsible for this should not rest easy. This case someday has the potential of getting cracked open. Whether somebody comes forward or whether it's that piece of DNA that is the link that they're missing, um, I think that they should live in fear of what they did and that police are on it.

SPEAKER_02

Good. I that's my hope. And that's my hope too, and I'm sure it's your hope too. So, um, in terms of the, I mean, there's as Pascal said, and as we started this um the episode, there are so many other cases and ones that you are living with and covering. So let's talk about some of these others. Um, one that we were going to talk about was Amy Hilliard. Okay, tell us a little bit about this woman.

SPEAKER_01

Amy's case has also gotten a bit of national attention, which is great because so many of the cases that I cover don't get that attention. And that's the reason I launched my missing series, is because hundreds of thousands of cases fly under the radar. Amy's case has gotten more attention for a few reasons. And I she's a beautiful woman. She's a wife, she's a mother, a sister. She's the co-owner of a coffee shop in Oakland, California. She went missing on March 25th. So, what we know about that day is her husband says he had texted with her that morning, normal text messages, normal interaction. He came home from work or wherever he was that day to an unusual scene in their house. The back door was open, which was strange. Their dog, which normally is kept in the house in a crate, was out of the crate. Amy's keys, her cell phone, her wallet were on the front or on the counter in the kitchen, and Amy's gone. So that's all unusual. That to me seems like foul play, right? That somebody took her or that she left in a hurry, something had happened. Police don't suspect foul play at this point, given that. And they use that term. I think that term is thrown around a lot. Yes. And I don't think it can ever be ruled out in a Missy case. I'll just say that. Um, because I think that you cannot see potential pieces of evidence if you say foul play is not being considered here. There was some footage of her caught on surveillance camera a little time later. Um, I think it was around two o'clock in the afternoon at a park near her home, kind of wandering around. Interestingly, I have personally not seen that surveillance footage. I think that should be made public. I think the family has seen it. Police have seen it, but the public should see it to see if anything stands out. But the call has gone out from the family and the private investigator that they've hired for people in a certain proximity to review their own surveillance footage and release it to investigators to see if there's something that they're missing. So what we are left with is Amy left on her own. That's what they're saying. Um, but she is still missing. Her two daughters, I believe she has two daughters, college age, don't know where their mom is. The husband today is her 53rd birthday, posted a new message on the Bring Amy home website, trying to re-engage the public to look for her.

SPEAKER_02

Is he a suspect?

SPEAKER_01

I think everybody's a suspect in every case. That's my opinion. Um, I've spoken to Chris, her husband, and he loves her and he misses her, and he's doing everything publicly he can to bring her home. I will say, in other cases where family members are first looked at, they aren't as cooperative with police. So I I give him and everybody else the benefit of the doubt. Police have not said anyone's a suspect, um, but I also think you can't rule anything out. And I think most families would encourage anything police can do to try to uncover leads. But at this point, her husband, her sister, everybody just believes that she she vanished.

SPEAKER_02

How long did how long did you say?

SPEAKER_01

It was March 25th, yep, of this year. And she was struggling, they said, with some mental health challenges, whether they haven't.

SPEAKER_00

They said that a mental illness is a common factor of adult disappearance. Yes. As well as domestic violence. Right. So is there is any sign of mental illness or domestic violence in their families?

SPEAKER_01

Uh domestic violence, not that I know of. But mental illness. Mental health issues, yes, but the family hasn't elaborated. And I think you bring up a good point. Anyone over 18 can vanish. I mean, if they want to leave their life, they can. Yeah. Um, in this case, because and I I tend to lean on the family's instinct as I do this more. Families know their loved ones. I mean, in some circumstances, maybe they could be convinced that they'd leave because they were struggling. This family just doesn't seem like one of them. I mean, they're they're just the why.

SPEAKER_00

You don't know what's happening behind closed doors. You don't.

SPEAKER_01

And and I don't know what was happening in her life and in her head. Um, but I know that I'm talking to a family that's heartbroken and wants answers. So to that I would say, and we've had some cases like this where someone has vanished because they want to. Um, in those circumstances, a few times they'll go to police um anonymously or behind the scenes and say, I am, you know, Jane Doe, I am John Doe. And I don't want to be found. And police will usually, in a in most cases, they'll inform us and they'll inform the family. And it has happened, it does happen. I would say people who choose to leave their lives are probably not in the state of mind to reach out to police right away, but over time, to give your family some closure is important. And I think closure can be a lot of things. Like in the Guthrie case, one term that I heard brought up, which a lot of our missing families cope with, is ambiguous trauma, which means you just don't know. And so you live and breathe and not sleep every night, not knowing what happened. And so it means so much to families. I mean, heaven forbid the worst happens and your loved one has passed away. But the not knowing if they have or haven't is almost as traumatic. It's unimaginable. Yeah, yeah. You can't move on. You can't grieve them. You can't, it's just hard to comprehend that. And so there is ambiguous trauma, is the term for it.

SPEAKER_02

I I could I could see that. I watched um uh this documentary on Amy Smart was recently. And I mean, she was gone for years. I mean, and uh um how her family, how you how you go about your life. I don't know how it's possible. And Savannah's on TV. I give her so much credit to just how she's because she has small children, you just you have to put one foot in front of the other, but it's got to be very difficult. What what about one of the others?

SPEAKER_01

We had another one, um, Allie Lowitz there. Yes. Yeah. Allie's case. So Allie's case is one that I actually found. Um, most of the cases that come to us, they find us, they reach out to us and say, Can you cover this missing person? I happen to be on TikTok and I saw a plea from Allie's mom a couple of years ago. And her mom's name is Joanne. And Joanne said, This is my daughter Allie, and she's missing. And then she just went into the case and it got me. Um, Allie was 16 years old in 2010 when she went to school, got on the school bus to come home, and vanished. And what's even sadder about that day and that disappearance is Allie had asked her mom, Joanne, that morning, can I take the bus and walk to my employer, Burger Barn, in Spring, Texas to pick up my paycheck and walk home? Allie always got off the bus and walked straight home. Joanne struggled with that, and she and Allie went back and forth that day, and she had never let her do it until that day. And then that's the day that she vanished. I have talked to Joanne countless times. I just met with her at CrimeCon in Las Vegas about Allie's story, and she is traumatized and conflicted by that decision still. I try to assure her, like anybody makes a similar decision, right? You just you try to give your kids the liberty of independence. And every other day she had said no, if she could have come home that day, but she didn't. She stepped off that bus and vanished. The one new thing about Allie's case, which again goes back to the hope in all of these cases, is when I talked to her in Vegas, she said 16 years later, as she was getting ready to go to CrimeCon to put a booth up and to try to get outreach on Allie's case, she was getting all her materials together for Vegas and was sitting with a friend. And the friend said, Isn't it crazy that other than this person, no one saw Allie get off the bus? And Joanne says to her friend, What are you talking about? And she goes, Well, my sister saw Allie walking down the street that day. 16 years later, Joanne had no knowledge of someone actually seeing, putting eyes on Allie walking down that street before she vanished. So what that does is one, it gives Joanne hope, but they can go back to police and review businesses in The area, surveillance camera. Did somebody see something that they never questioned 16 years ago? It's those little pieces of evidence that sometimes come to light years later that can crack a case wide open. That is Joanne's hope in Allie's case. Sadly, Joanne doesn't think Allie is alive. She knows her daughter, and she says if she were alive, she would try to get home. So that is heartbreaking to know, but she wants to know what happened, right?

SPEAKER_00

There is roughly 500 to 600,000 missing persons uh reported annually in the USA. Most of them are teenager from the age of 13 to 17. So and those cases, most of them are fine, they recover. So what is the what what is a case who really touched you and really got your heart going and said, I've got to help, I've got to resolve?

SPEAKER_01

I so it's crazy how many cases are out there. I was on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children today before I came here, and it's a daily exercise of mine to go through some of their cases as I post and share them. There are hundreds and hundreds of new cases every single year. And I scroll through, and you're right, I had posted today three 14-year-olds from Colorado Springs, Mesa, Arizona, and one from Phoenix just today that have gone missing in the last month. Um, every case sticks with me and strikes me, especially cases involving children, anybody that's vulnerable, so like Nancy Guthrie, or little kids who can't protect themselves. All of these cases deserve attention. And thankfully, many of these kids do come home, but it's the ones that don't and don't get attention that worry me the most because, like you said, the more time that passes, the harder it is to bring them home safely. Trafficking is a big issue, especially out west, but it's not just there. I mean, we've seen trafficking cases from all over the country. One of our first missing cases got solved, and the teenager was found safely. She was from the South. Somebody saw our story on News Nation and she was found in the Chicago area. She had been trafficked, she had been taken up north. She had been with this guy for a couple of weeks, but was then located by a neighbor who saw her face on TV. Um, so I don't know why so many people go missing. I don't know why that age group in particular, if it's a combination of the city.

SPEAKER_00

Run away, run away from home and wants to don't live under parents' rules. They want their independence, they have a drug addiction. Uh, you know, there is a lot of factors in that age.

SPEAKER_01

The other thing, though, I would say to that, Pascal, is police, and this is a criticism I get from a lot of families of missing teens, is police treat it as a runaway and they don't treat it as something went wrong. And that's where I lean on family instinct. Um, I mean, yes, there are cases where teens are leaving bad situations, and ultimately you want them to go to the police to get help so that they're safely taken care of. But some of them just leave and they're maybe worse off because now they're on the streets. But there are a lot of cases that because there are so many, they don't get uh prioritized in law enforcement because law enforcement has so much to do. And it's easy to say they probably just left, they'll be back tomorrow, give them a little time. Um, but what I have found is time does not heal wounds, time does not solve cases, um, pressure on investigations does. And in every case that we cover, um, law enforcement I think does an incredible job, but there are more cases every single day than they can't handle. So that's where I think that social media has played a huge role. Um, news organizations take these cases seriously. To my knowledge, News Nation is the only national news network that covers missing person cases consistently and regularly. This is our fifth year doing so. We recognized very early on that there was a void here in sharing these cases. And it has been incredibly powerful to hear these families hold on to hope and wait for answers.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I mean, kudos to you and your reporting and, like you said, that your News Nation Network from doing that. Two other cases that I think captured uh a lot of national attention and were especially on social media, at least that I was following. One was Jimmy, um, the boy who was in Barcelona, Jimmy Gracie. Uh he has the dark hair. And um he so he was traveling in Barcelona or a semester abroad.

SPEAKER_01

He was on spring break with friends in Barcelona. Okay. Yep. So he was just there a week, which um for those parents out there who are sending their kids abroad. I think that Jimmy's case, and he's from Elmhurst, which is here in the Chicago area, um, strikes on a few things. Um, we want our kids to be able to explore the world and do so safely. Um, I was just in Europe, and I think that college kids there for a semester or there on spring break, especially American kids, stand out. Oh my gosh. Um, and can become targets. Um, and they can also feel invincible. And you're in a you're another another part of the world, and it's a new culture, and there's new and exciting things. And so you can kind of have your blinders on. Um, Jimmy did nothing wrong. He was there vacationing with friends. He was at a nightclub that night. It was really popular. There were tons of people around. He got separated from his group, and then surveillance footage showed him going into the water. Um, this club was on the beach, and then um the autopsy revealed he died of drowning. And I think there were some rocks there, and it was late. And had he been drinking?

SPEAKER_00

Um was he drinking was he drinking?

unknown

I don't know.

SPEAKER_01

I don't know about the toxicology. Okay. Um, I don't want to assume that he was, but it's not.

SPEAKER_00

I mean, we should obviously they should have done the toxicology to find out if he have the level of alcohol in his body.

SPEAKER_01

I think all we read was the drown was the drowning.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I think that's the part that we don't know more so than the alcohol, because he was at a bar. I'm assuming he was probably drinking, is if there had been a little bit of foul play. Did someone try to rob him or and then he fell in? Was he pushed in? I they that's what they don't really know.

SPEAKER_01

And I think because that investigation was in Barcelona, I I'm not as close to it. I think that the media there have covered it uh as best as they could, but I think there's a lot of details about his case that I just don't know. Um I haven't seen though that the family is pushing for more investigation. So that tends to tell me that they have they have what they need to be at peace. Um I don't, I don't fully know. Um, but I think it goes back to just remembering, especially as college students, kind of feel like they can they can do anything and survive anything. Um, to just watch out for your friends. I know.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, when you're my son went went to Europe in the semester abroad in Barcelona, and I warned him, I said, be careful, watch your surrounding, quack your bottle of waters, make sure your drink is always holding your hand. You know, you you don't know. You you know, at that age, they're very uh immature and they think they know everything. And uh, you know, you got you you you never know when you're in a front country.

SPEAKER_02

And it's abroad, it's abroad, but it's also there was the case of the boy in was it Nashville that he left the bar. He was pushed out, he was told to leave the bar, and his friends, uh not not this boy, but um he was um leaving the bar and he was missing for a while when they found his body in a river, yes.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and I think that you don't have to be in Barcelona to to drink too much and to fall into water. I mean, it happens, it happens all over the place. Um so I think it's just like in Jimmy's case, it's tragic. Um I think the the fact that it got national and international attention and we try to focus on all the great things about this kid and he his future and his life and um what he had in front of him, it's just tragic. Um but yeah, keep keep an eye on your friends, make good decisions, right?

SPEAKER_00

Um what is the group age or most likely uh the the missing person? What what is the the age where we really think then you know it's in the 40s, in the fifties, and the what is the I'd have to get some solid data on that, but based on what I cover, yeah, every age.

SPEAKER_01

Every age. Every age. I've seen this week. My featured case is a baby that was seven months old that was taken from his own home, his crib in the middle of the night 40 years ago.

SPEAKER_00

40 years ago.

SPEAKER_01

40 years ago. Um, all we have is an image of a seven-month-old little boy, and we have an age progression photo, and then people as old as Nancy Guthrie, who's 84, um, and everything in between, all walks of life, all races, all backgrounds, all circumstances. I mean, families that you would that you hear say, I never thought this would happen to us. It happens. College students, children. I mean, it is truly alarming how many people go missing. Um, and there's a lot of people.

SPEAKER_00

The racial between men and women is there is more women or men disappearing?

SPEAKER_01

I mean, it in my experience, it's been pretty equal. Yeah. I mean, I we cover we cover them all. I don't feel like there's an age group. I do think you to your point earlier on missing teens, yeah, a lot of those go missing and they come home or they're found or yeah, one way or another. Um, I think that happens less often the older someone gets, which means foul play, something bad happened, or they left on their own. I think that's less the case that they left on their own.

SPEAKER_02

Another one that was all over TikTok and national news was uh the boy who um was they were in Japan on a family trip. What was his name? James Higgins Bossum. Okay.

SPEAKER_01

Yep. That one also got a lot of attention. I think this age group gets a lot of attention because um, back to the point of they they're kind of at this great spot in their life, and how could something go wrong and where did they go? Um, his family immediately went before the cameras and tried to get attention on his case. He was visiting Japan with his family, celebrating his younger brother's high school graduation. He was a student at Auburn. And according to the family, he got into an argument with his parents while they were over there. And they said it was not unusual for him to go take a minute to just take a breather, walk around. He loved to be outside, he loved the environment, wanted to go on a hike. He was seen on some surveillance video getting on a train in Kyoto and then kind of just vanished. So then a few days go by, the family continues to, you know, make their plea. On the day that he was found, I actually was going to be interviewing his mom. She was still in Japan, and we were gonna do a Zoom interview, and she canceled in within the hour of us doing the interview, and I came to find out they found him. So search teams that were in the mountains ended up finding James. Um in that case, they have been very tight-lipped about his cause of death. Um, they said no foul play is suspected, so do with that as you will. Um, but he had also been struggling with some mental health issues and was arguing with his family, and um, they have now just asked for privacy. In a lot of the cases that we cover, when there is a resolution, my work is done. I give the family space. And so if the family no longer is seeking answers, then I am usually not either.

SPEAKER_02

What do you think, though, as you know, that because people be are becoming so invested in in these cases, and and then we are sort of left with no answers at that point, it sort of makes me feel. I mean, I'm happy for the of course the families that they found it. I they that's who matters. But as a um a viewer who has been active in all of it and and you know, hoping and praying for them and following it to just sort of get nothing. Yeah, you know.

SPEAKER_01

I think that's a tough emotional thing.

SPEAKER_02

I think ambiguity I have to look at.

SPEAKER_01

I guess so. Yeah. Um no, I think that we want resolution in these cases, but ultimately my mission is answers for the family. And once they have them, um, I have a lot of other cases that I get to. Um but it is, but it is really sad, and people are very invested in it. You feel like you can help and you're part of it.

SPEAKER_00

So uh all the missing cases, uh, how many of them have found alive?

SPEAKER_01

I have a handful. Um but I don't have hundreds. Not hundreds. I've covered more than 300 cases in the last almost five years, and I have a few. And um, I shout those from the rooftop because it it then puts hope into the cases that are unsolved. So the teen girl who I won't name, who was found in Chicago, um, another teen girl from California who had been trafficked, we were able to help return her home safely. Um, I say resolutions in cases. So we have found some people alive. In fact, I got a phone call, uh, a text message last night from a mom whose daughter was missing in LA, and she said she's been found alive. So um I haven't spoken with the mom yet, so I don't have details to share, but I just got that message last night. It's good news. Um, but in other cases, resolutions um means my loved one was found deceased, and I can now grieve and understand what happened. Um, and there are quite a few of those cases that are tragic, but those families now have answers. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

How do you handle all of this personally? You know, you're talking with these families and the devastation and the trauma that they're going through. How do you separate yourself from that?

SPEAKER_01

I don't think I do. Um, I mean, I think you're able to compartmentalize because there are so many cases. I mean, to Pascal's point, I mean, there are more cases than I can even begin to cover. I mean, I wish I could get to all of them. Um, some cases stick with me more than others. Um, if I've spoken directly with the family members, again, it's the vulnerable, it's a kid who goes missing. Um, but I don't protect my emotions when I cover missing cases like I would in a normal news story. I feel like this is a space where people are coming to you for help and I'm advocating for answers. So I I still take in all the facts. I still work with investigators and I I need police to tell me what's happening in a case. And sometimes family has more information, but I need to source that correctly. So I I have that investigative, journalistic, protective quality still going, but I feel for these families, and I'm it's okay to give them a hug or to cry with them. Or um, a lot of the families that I work with, I mean, I we directly stay in contact during the case, after the case. Um, it's a it's an open relationship, um, which I think is different than how I've approached my career in journalism and covering news. Missing is unique. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

If you have a loved one who disappeared today, what was the first thing you will tell the family to do and not to do?

SPEAKER_01

Immediately get the word out. Immediately. And don't protect the case, um, get the word out. The more you can do it.

SPEAKER_00

That's to do.

SPEAKER_01

I would say get in front of the camera. Um, I, you know, I think that that's a very daunting thing to do. And I think it's very brave of families who choose to, but I think because of the world we live in, and because everybody has their phones in their hand, the sooner you can get in front of a camera and share their face and share their story and make people care about it, I think you create this army of investigators that want to truly help you and solve the case. There's a dark side to it too, and a lot of these families deal with that with false tips, uh, ransom notes that aren't real, or really traumatizing stories that they'll string these families along. But I think the power of social media can outweigh the negative. So I would say share your loved one as fast and as much as possible in that case to help bring them home. More attention the better.

SPEAKER_02

You mentioned CrimeCon. I'm so interested in understanding what. So, how long has that been around and what goes on there?

SPEAKER_01

Tell us a little bit about that. Yeah, it's about 10 years, I believe. I think it was like 2017 or so that CrimeCon launched. They've traveled from city to city and it's gotten bigger and bigger every single year. And it is just this group of, um, for lack of a better word, true crime junkies. But I don't love to use that term because these people care. I mean, they show up at this convention and they want to know about cases. They're really invested and they're read in on mysteries, whether it's police officer or are they just normal citizens? It's a mix. Um it's a lot of just civilians who follow cases, but CrimeCon brings together the experts and then has panels where civilians can listen in and participate in these investigations. So a lot of it's former law enforcement, a lot of it is TV people people who cover investigative cases. So 48 hours and 60 minutes and you know, News Nation and our missing series. There's um it's just kind of an interesting place for everybody to converge over a shared mission to solve cases, to advocate for victims, to learn from investigations, what went wrong, what worked, um, how could one thing that happened in this investigation help influence another? I think it's it has blossomed into a really big kind of cool event over sad stories. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, there's so many podcasts that have exploded about that some of them just are 13 episodes on one case, some of them do different cases every every week. So um, what is something that um you that that stays with you so much, or something that you've learned that you're surprised about learning um as you've covered these cases?

SPEAKER_01

I think the hope that families carry with them, despite very scary real circumstances, um I mean the evidence in a lot of these cases isn't good. Um, and so you can tend to um feel as though you've just hit a dead end. But I find that these families' love for the their person is far outweighs that. And I think it's been really inspiring to see. And if that person is gone, we have given them a space to share what they miss or what made that person special. And so I think what has been uh wonderful for me to see is just the community around this type of coverage of these mysteries. Um it feels important, it feels impactful, um, and it feels like we're making a difference in sharing these stories in whatever way that we can.

SPEAKER_00

What is the difference between a case and then going to a court case? How long of a time does it take from a case to go to a court case?

SPEAKER_01

That's a good question, and I think it varies based on the circumstances of the case. Um some people say a year, or a year.

SPEAKER_00

So for a year, you will think then the investigation is ongoing, and after a year, when they don't have answer, they put that in a file and they put it as a court case, and there is a different unit to come up and take it over years ago.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and that's where I think the families often come in because they have to continue to put pressure on law enforcement because it can go in a file drawer, or there can be a change in the staff at the police department or the sheriff's office, and a new set of eyes is on the case. Um so the families have to continue to push. One issue that has arisen as we've covered cases, especially cold cases, is after 10, 15, 20 years, families have pushed to have access to those files. Because if law enforcement doesn't have the staff or the resources to look at it, families say, we'll look at it. Can we have access to our loved ones' file? And those some of those cases are playing out in the court system. So I'll keep you posted on how those resolve themselves. But families want to be able to continue to pursue answers and with law enforcement, hopefully, but if they don't have that help, um, to be able to have access to some files. And in a few cases, if you've got a cooperative law enforcement department, families can have access.

SPEAKER_00

Um, so that can be helpful in cold cases if families can give a fresh set of eyes to the And in DNA and all those new technology we have today are able to resolve a lot of those cold cases?

SPEAKER_01

Yes. And I think genealogy, um, genetic genealogy, so DNA testing with families, um I think that's a new thing relatively in the last decade that can help solve some of these cases. The problem is you've got to go back to the original case and see how it was handled and how the evidence was gathered. And do you have evidence that you can actually still act on?

SPEAKER_00

Do you do you think our police department or inspector are doing a good job collecting evidence and save it properly?

SPEAKER_01

By and large, yes. Okay. Um in the Nancy Guthrie case, um, I think that the Sheriff's Department is doing the best they can, but sometimes in cases, local police and sheriff's departments have never dealt with these types of cases, so missteps can happen. Um the problem is you can't go back and recover evidence once it has not been gathered properly. Right. Um, so it can be a bit of a beast. Um, I think when you can get the FBI involved, they cover a lot of these cases. In fact, the FBI offers rewards in a lot of cases. Um, there are several. There's a reward in Amy Hilliard's case that we talked about. There's a reward in the Maria Del Carmen Lopez case. She was a woman who's a dual American citizen who was kidnapped three years ago from her home in Mexico, and her kidnappers abducted her from her front door. She was watering her plants, called in a ransom, and even she pleaded for her own life to her family. The FBI is involved in that case, even though it happened in Mexico, and they're offering a $25,000 reward. So the FBI, I think, has done a really good job investing and investigating cases. And when you can, even in your local communities here in the U.S., advocate for their assistance. Um, you would think most local departments would welcome that.

SPEAKER_02

Which is not the case, or it seemingly wasn't the case with the Guthrie. There was mixed up. It seemed like the local sheriff was. I mean, I watched a ton of the coverage at the beginning that he didn't really like them coming in. But um uh it's uh hopefully those cases, you know, will continue to uncover new things. You're doing meaningful work. We are so um appreciative that you came by and stopped by to talk to us.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you for your interest. Hours and hours and uh based on our view, we'd love to maybe have you back and and talk some more. I'd love to. No, I have so many cases.

SPEAKER_02

So, where can we go to learn more about the case you're covering? Yes.

SPEAKER_01

So so first of all, I tell people if you've got a missing case that you want us to look into, I review every single case that we get and I try to get back to people as soon as possible. But I have an Missing with Marnie at Gmail where people can send cases. You can go to News Nation and search our missing page, and you can submit cases there. Uh, we're on TikTok, missing with Marnie, YouTube, Missing with Marnie, and also Instagram. Um, you can find all of the updates on cases regularly, submit cases, comment on the cases because on those social platforms, the more comments, the more reach, um, and the more eyeballs, and it takes one person who sees something to say something that will solve a case, whether it's Nancy's, whether it's Amy's, whether it's Allie's. Um, I don't give up hope until I have the answers.

SPEAKER_00

And come last question for you. Yeah. With all the social media you mentioned, how successful you have to have some answers and some lead.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. It's amazing. I mean, to have a piece of evidence that when we get something, we share it with law enforcement. That's the first place we send any information that we get. But I think it's been extremely powerful to see how many people care and come to us because they recognize that a lot of these stories don't get shared. They don't get told. When we launched our missing series, it was because of Gabby Petito. Um, remember the girl who was traveling the country stopped.

SPEAKER_02

With her fiance.

SPEAKER_01

Um Gabby's case got so much attention nationally, worldwide. And immediately people said, Well, why does her case matter so much? And I said, It does, but so do other cases. And that's when we launched our missing series, the cases that don't get told, like Gabby's. And Gabby's legacy is missing. Um, I know her family. I talked to Joe Petito, her dad, when we were at CrimeCon. And what we're doing is part of Gabby's legacy that her case tragically ended, but we have been able to shine a light on so many other cases because of her story. Yeah, that's amazing.

SPEAKER_02

I actually just heard that there's some new potential news on that uh that whole matter where they're saying the parents of the laundry family. Yes, that the laundry family may have killed him. I don't know. Okay. Okay. We'll have to look into that. We'll have to look into that. But like Pascal just said, we could keep talking. But thank you again for your thank you again for your time. Thank you guys for your time. Appreciate it. Thank you. Okay. See you next time in my hometown.

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Jamie Stein

Host