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Guthrie Family Begs For Mother's Return In New Video; Trump Refuses To Apologize For Video Depicting Obamas As Apes; Dow Crosses 50,000 Points For The First Time Ever; Lindsey Vonn To Complete In Winter Olympics With ACL Injury; Guthrie Family Begs For Mother's Return In New Video: "We will Pay"; Seahawks, Patriots Return To NFL's Biggest Stage. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired February 07, 2026 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[19:00:40]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean here in New York.

We do have breaking news in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie. Just moments ago, Savannah and her siblings posted a new video. Here's what it says.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, DAUGHTER OF NANCY GUTHRIE: We received your message and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us and we will pay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Now today marks day seven of the search, still no named suspects. Authorities say they believe Nancy Guthrie was abducted from her home near Tucson last weekend after blood belonging to her was discovered on the porch and a front door camera was missing. Officials are also looking into the authenticity of a new note sent to a local news station.

Let's bring in CNN's Ed Lavandera and Josh Campbell. We're going to start first with Ed.

Ed, you've been covering this story. Bring us up to date with where everything stands as of right now.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it's important to kind of walk through the timeline leading up to this video that we've received here within the last hour. So you'll remember, according to FBI investigators, there was a 5:00 p.m. deadline that was mentioned in one of the initial notes received by multiple news outlets, two of them here in Tucson, and the other one being the celebrity Web site TMZ.

There was a 5:00 p.m. deadline mentioned, and there was also a Monday deadline mentioned. At 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, that is when the Guthrie family released their second video. That was Camron Guthrie, Savannah's brother, trying to reach out and establish contact with the author of these alleged ransom letters as well. And then we know that there was a second message that was received by the CNN affiliate KOLD Friday morning around 11:30.

So this is newest video from the Guthrie siblings. It's coming more than 24 hours after we know that that follow-up message was sent. And up until this point, investigators both federal and local officials here have been saying that we do not know yet if these demands and these notes are in fact authentic, if they're legitimate in any way. But it is clear that this perhaps changes the dynamic in that situation.

Both investigators and clearly the Guthrie family have been taking these messages seriously. And that is why we've heard from FBI investigators, and we know that the Guthrie family is working with hostage negotiating teams with the FBI in crafting these messages and putting these videos out there.

I should also point out in my conversation that I had with the sheriff here in Pima County just a few days ago. He told me that he was not aware that Savannah Guthrie and her siblings were recording the first video message that was put out earlier this week. He didn't -- he learned about it after it had been published and put up on Instagram. So clearly this is an avenue of this investigation that federal authorities are the ones handling exclusively.

DEAN: And Ed, I believe you're there nearby where Nancy Guthrie's home is. What has the activity been like around where you are? What have you been seeing?

LAVANDERA: Well, this afternoon in the last few days when law enforcement has shown up here in the neighborhood to search and recanvass, not only Nancy Guthrie's property, but the surrounding areas as well, it has happened in the late afternoon and last night extended well into the evening as well.

We have not seen that level of activity around here today, although local investigators did say that they continue canvasing various areas in the city looking for videos, looking for any kind of clues that might point out and lead them to where Nancy Guthrie might be. But I think right now the intense focus of this investigation is clearly on this communication that is happening back and forth between the Guthrie family and whoever is sending these messages.

DEAN: All right. Ed Lavandera there for us in Arizona. Thank you for that reporting.

Let's bring in CNN's senior correspondent and former FBI agent who worked kidnaping cases for the FBI, Josh Campbell.

[19:05:00]

OK, Josh, we have this latest video coming out just in the last hour. This is new. What does this tell you about where this investigation is going and where things stand?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, big picture to start. We know this is a video that the Guthrie family is releasing publicly on social media and hoping that that will be amplified, picked up by the media. That certainly suggests that there is not a direct line of communication between whoever abducted Nancy Guthrie and the Guthrie family.

You know, I've worked kidnaping cases where if there is an actual line of communication that is set up that is treated sensitively, that is protected, that is not something that either the family nor the FBI, crisis negotiators for that matter, would actually be publicizing. And so the fact that we see this appeal again via social media tells us that they're essentially responding to the alleged abductor here via the medium that they have chosen. And that is sending information out via the press.

There are a couple of things in that video that I think are key for us to focus on. The first that you actually hear Savannah Guthrie there, and again, this is heart-wrenching. I don't want to be -- I don't want to be too clinical about this. But they are essentially saying that, look, we understand the demand that you have made. They're appealing to the person who may have taken Nancy Guthrie, and then saying that, look, we will pay.

And there is always a question if there is a demand for a ransom. You know, I've been involved in these gut-wrenching decisions with family members where they're asking, you know, members of the FBI, should we pay money? What should we do? At the end of the day, that is a decision for the family. We don't know what the exact amount is that they're discussing here, nor, you know, what type of mechanism there will be to actually submit funds.

There was reporting earlier that one of the initial demands was actually for a payment via cryptocurrency. But this is an important step here because, again, you have the family now, Savannah Guthrie saying that, look, we will pay. We know that based on one of the earlier videos that was received by TMZ, there was a report of a Monday deadline that was perhaps more sinister in nature.

And so the goal for both the family, for law enforcement, as well as the abductor is to slow this down now. Look, there might be a Monday deadline. Deadlines can change, deadlines can shift. In a negotiation like this, with the kidnaping, both parties have to have something the other wants. Obviously, in this case, if this turns out to be a verifiable, you know, kidnaping, the person who is in the custody of Nancy Guthrie has that leverage.

But the family has something that that person might want and that is money. And so, again, the point that is so important from this video that Savannah just released is saying, look, we understand what you're saying. We want her back safely. We will pay. Of course now we're waiting to see what happens next, what form of communication comes. And that's something that we will all be certainly watching, but certainly a critical development in this case. DEAN: And Josh, one big question for everybody has been proof of life.

How is Nancy Guthrie, what is her status? Certainly no one more than those three siblings right there who desperately want to know how their mother is. That was the thing they asked for in their original video, that they needed proof of life and acknowledge that we live in a world where that can be manufactured quite easily with A.I.

Again, we don't know what they got back, what information they may have received, but what does it tell you that that was what they were demanding, and now we have this video.

CAMPBELL: Well, that is so important. And, you know, our colleagues, our affiliate there in Arizona, KOLD, they have been very circumspect. They are the ones who received the latest message from the purported kidnapers here. We don't know what that contained. We don't know if that included a so-called proof of life. Again, they're trying to, you know, protect that information because they, you know, want to protect the integrity of this investigation and ensure that there's the best possible outcome here.

And so, as we've said, stated from the beginning of this case, there are a lot of things we simply do not know in that category. That includes whether there has been an actual proof of life in the last day or so. That is something investigators always want to have. You know, family members want to have. This is a calculus that the family will have to make, you know, if there is a demand for some type of ransom and they decide to actually make that payment, what are they basing that information on?

Do they have, you know, a good faith belief that Nancy is, you know, still alive and still in the custody of the people that are purporting to take her? But again, this is not -- this is one of the most difficult circumstances anyone could ever be in to have to make that determination. At the end of the day, the FBI says it's up to the family. Again, we're waiting to see what happens next.

Finally, Jessica, I'll tell you that I don't expect that if there does end up being some type of actual two-way communication between the family and the abductors after the release of this video just moments ago, that we will get real-time updates on that. That is something that authorities will certainly want to protect. Of course, all of our hearts go out to the Guthrie family and hope for the safe return.

DEAN: I know. We certainly do. We hope that Nancy Guthrie is safely home very, very soon with her family where she belongs.

[19:10:04]

Josh Campbell, thank you so much for that.

And joining us now is criminologist and behavioral analyst Casey Jordan.

Casey, thank you for being here with us. From your perspective, again, coming at this as a criminologist and behavioral analyst, I want to just get first your reaction to this new video that we're getting tonight, the language that Savannah is using there, obviously, they are in unimaginable pain as they're trying to get their mother home.

CASEY JORDAN, CRIMINOLOGIST: Yes. Some curious choice of language and maybe a little bit coded. I'm -- here's my first reaction as a criminologist is that there is no honor among thieves and criminals and kidnapers. And I think that there is a certain amount of tenuous desperation and trust when she says, we will pay.

I'm not at all convinced that they do have proof of life, but perhaps they got enough detail in the latest communication that arrived yesterday for her to, if you will, gamble on the idea that her mother is still alive, even if she doesn't have it. Perhaps they had micro- specific details, things that only Nancy could know that they communicated there, which at least convinced Savannah and her family that whoever sent that e-mail does have Nancy within their control. And whether they could provide proof of life in an e-mail, kind of, you know, incredulous about that.

But at this point, yes, we see the desperation, the exhaustion of this family, and when she says they will pay, they are going to, I'm sure, transfer some agreed upon sum of money into a bitcoin account. But I do think I agree with Josh, from here on out we probably will never know the details.

I also want to point out that we may not get Nancy back, even if the money is paid. We certainly are hoping and praying that's the outcome. But at this point, I think we all have a heightened sense of, do we trust this? Are these hoaxers? Or is this really going to bring Nancy home? And I think there's not a family in the world out there that wouldn't take the risk and send the money if it meant getting their mother back.

DEAN: Yes. And you mentioned you think just in some of the language that she was using there that some of it may be very specific language or choices of words?

JORDAN: Yes. Just mostly the word celebrate really rang for me. At the same time, she didn't thank them for giving them proof of life or for, you know, everything was very tenuous. I really saw some vacillation going on. We want our mother home to celebrate her. It's a morose thought, but they could be negotiating for Nancy's return in any condition at this point. And the bottom line is that there didn't seem to be a lot of hopefulness about it.

The idea that they will celebrate is really what we're focusing on right now, that some kind of communication came through that convinced this family that Nancy is still alive or within their care, and that they have a chance of getting her back, no matter what condition they get her back, they want her back.

DEAN: And so as you note and as you said, Josh noted, too, from here on out -- it's just so rare that we see anything, first of all, that we would see anything like this, period. But to see anything like this play out so publicly is even, you know, it's more mind boggling that this is really happening. But that you don't expect that we're going to get a lot of public information as this moves forward. This may move into a more private situation.

JORDAN: Yes. And I think that's exactly where it should go. You are right. This is highly unusual. And even though my experience with kidnappings is almost always sexual in nature, sexual captors and captives, the bottom line is that as a kidnaping for ransom, this is not typical. Not just of course, it's high profile and they've gone after somebody with money, but why Savannah?

There are far infinitely more wealthy people than Savannah, with vulnerable family members. And this seems to be very unique to the Tucson area, perhaps very unique to the Guthrie family. I mean, but the bottom line is communicating through the news agencies really we don't see that. Generally they want to communicate directly with the family, keep it as low key as possible, get in, get out, get their captor immediately. Not three days later. Present the demand for ransom. And none of that has been textbook with this particular case.

All I can tell you is that apart from wanting Nancy back, I think the public wants to see these people captured, and I'm sure that the police and the FBI are working tirelessly on that angle as well.

DEAN: Yes, I think you're right about that.

[19:15:01]

Casey Jordan, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

JORDAN: Good to be here.

DEAN: We're going to have much more of our breaking news this hour. Stay with CNN. We're going to take a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: Tonight, President Trump shows no sign of backing down from his refusal to apologize for that racist video that appeared on his social media site depicting the Obamas as apes. That video was online for almost 12 hours before it was taken down.

[19:20:03]

The president saying he only watched the first part of it and was not showed the part that showed the Obamas. The White House blamed a staffer for including the offensive material.

CNN correspondent Julia Benbrook is joining us now.

Julia, that video is about one minute long, so not that much to review there. What more from the White House have we heard on this?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jessica, President Donald Trump, he spoke about this on Air Force One as he traveled here to Florida, where he is spending the weekend now. And he was pressed about whether or not he should make an apology, take responsibility for this. He made it very clear that he does not believe that he specifically made a mistake in this situation. He said that he started to watch the video. As you mentioned, it is

not very long, but he said that he did not watch it all the way through and did not see that racist image that is included in the post. Now, he also said that his staff took it down as soon as they knew that it was included, but it was up for 12 hours. There were 12 full hours from when it was posted to when it was taken down.

And during that time, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt put out a statement that was dismissive of concerns about this post, calling it fake outrage in response to it. But that outrage was very clearly real and coming from both sides of the aisle, including from some of those that are Trump's closest and most loyal allies, like Senator Tim Scott.

He took to social media. He said that he was praying that this post was a mistake, that it was the most racist thing he had seen out of this White House, and that he wanted to see it taken down. We do know that Scott spoke with the president before that post was deleted.

Now, the White House says that a staffer made the error and posted it. As I spoke to a bit earlier, Trump says this wasn't his mistake, but I want you to hear that full exchange. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. President, a number of Republicans are calling on you to apologize for that post. Is that something you're going to do?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No, I didn't make a mistake. I am, by the way, the least racist president you've had in a long time as far as I'm concerned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: Now, sources who spoke with our team say that Trump does often make these posts personally himself, especially late at night or early in the morning. But there are some others who do have access to those accounts. Again, the White House has said that a staffer was responsible for this error. When Trump was pressed on if that staffer would be fired, he declined to say.

DEAN: All right. Julia Benbrook, there in Palm Beach, Florida, where the president is over the weekend. Thank you so much for that.

Still to come here, the U.S. stock market seeing record numbers even as Americans are losing their jobs at the highest rate since 2009. Economist Justin Wolfers joins us next to explain the deep divide between Wall Street and main street.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:27:25]

DEAN: An historic milestone as the Dow crossed over 50,000 points for the first time ever on Friday. The stock market has stayed strong over the past year despite recent geopolitical turmoil, including uncertainty in Iran, tensions over Greenland, the U.S. capture of Venezuela's former president Nicolas Maduro, and also the tariffs that have been folded in. Yesterday's rally coming after a three-day selloff in tech and software stocks. That rout prompted in part by nerves that A.I. tools could disrupt business models.

Professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan, Justin Wolfers, is joining us now.

Justin, it is good to see you. We did see this major milestone of the Dow hitting this incredible number yesterday. Meanwhile, earlier this week, new data revealed 2025 was one of the weakest years in job growth in decades. And so, as is often the case when we're talking to you about the current state of the economy, we have these two data points that seem like they don't belong together. But sort through them for us.

JUSTIN WOLFERS, PROFESSOR OF ECONOMY AND PUBLIC POLICY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: Yes. So there's one big global trend, and then there's what's happening in the U.S. economy specifically. So the big global trend is that the movement towards A.I., maybe we're on the cusp of a revolution. That's created enormous valuations in that sector. That's pushed up the U.S. stock market.

It's a huge part of what's pushed up the U.S. stock market. And it's also pushed up markets around the world. Then we return to everything else. Now, the thing about A.I. is not many of us work in A.I. You and I don't construct data centers. Data centers are just full of computers that talk to each other, not workers that talk to each other. And so what you see there is the rest of the economy where people actually are is a whole lot weaker.

The U.S. stock market, while it looks strong, is actually much weaker than almost any other industrialized country. So while we're doing well, it turns out everyone else is doing even better.

DEAN: Oh, interesting. Yes. And so what is the job market data say to you?

WOLFERS: It says that we're underperforming right now. So perhaps the most important index out there and the thing that matters most for people's lives is the unemployment rate. Can you find work? And that was as low as 3.5 percent a couple of years ago. It's now up around 4.5 percent. It's risen half a percentage point through the last year.

This is actually a really interesting story. I'm glad you asked about it, Jessica, because it's something that happens when it happens so slowly it never makes the news. But then you add it up over the course of a year, and we've discovered that the job market has gotten a whole lot tougher for people. So unemployment is up. We've created almost no jobs since liberation day back in April.

And another index of how people feel about the economy is the extent to which they're happy to quit their jobs. The quit rate has actually fallen right down. Now, you might say, why focus on quits? It's because I'm only willing to quit my job and look for something better elsewhere if I feel like there's something better elsewhere, and people just aren't feeling that way right now.

[19:30:19]

DEAN: Yes, and then I do want to ask you, interestingly, the sell off before yesterday's rally, we saw that Anthropic, this A.I. company came out with new tools. It spooked some investors about how could it could affect digital service companies like software. Those companies then saw a selloff. It was kind of this like real world. It was actually happening where A.I. was disrupting some of these other companies.

WOLFERS: And so, in some sense, think of this as confirmation that the A.I. Revolution is real. Look, I'm just going to tell you the truth. I spent my whole afternoon with Claude Code, this afternoon, I created a couple of programs that otherwise I would have had to pay a software company a few hundred dollars for.

DEAN: Yes.

WOLFERS: So, what we're seeing is the software companies are worth less. But guess what? You and I can be a whole lot more productive. So, we're doing the work they we're doing, but they're not getting paid, so their earnings look bad. But you and I, we end up looking more productive.

DEAN: Interesting, Justin Wolfers, good to see you. Thank you so much.

WOLFERS: Pleasure.

DEAN: Coming up, all eyes on American skier, Lindsey Vonn as she prepares to hit the slopes on Sunday to begin her pursuit of a medal, despite that ruptured ACL, how that is even possible? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:36:13]

DEAN: American skier Lindsey Vonn is preparing to compete in her fifth Olympic Winter Games. This time, though, she'll be racing with a ruptured ACL.

Now, that ligament is one of the key stabilizers in the knee. It connects the femur to the tibia, securing the joint and preventing bones from sliding out of place. It's what allows athletes to pivot, cut, jump and land. And when there's too much pressure on the ligament, it can stretch or tear. That makes ACL injuries common in sports, with sudden twists and stops like soccer, football and skiing.

Factors like gender and medical history can also increase the risk of an ACL rupture, which typically takes months to recover from.

Joining us now is Dr. Neal ElAttrache, an orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine. He's also the head team physician for the Los Angeles Rams and Dodgers, and is widely known for treating a number of famous athletes -- Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers to name a couple. Doctor, thank you so much for being here with us. Obviously, you are an expert in this and these sorts of injuries like the one Lindsey Vonn has. To a person everyone says, how on earth can she do this? How can she compete in these Olympic games with an ACL rupture? So, help people understand that.

DR. NEAL ELATTRACHE, ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON: Well, you know, what she's doing is it's very rare. There are athletes that have been able to compete in their sport like skiing, football, basketball with an ACL deficient knee. But if you look at the statistics of what it would take to be in that small group, it's about 10 percent that are able to tolerate getting back to the sport with ACL deficiency and only a fraction of those would be able to compete at the world class or elite level that she is.

So, she's certainly in a very, very rare group of people. There are some things that are going to her advantage. Number one, she's Lindsey Vonn. She's one of the greatest, if not the greatest female downhill skiers in history. She has demonstrated the ability to sustain significant injuries, go through the rehab necessary to recover from surgery, to reconstruct and repair those injuries and be able to come back and ski at the world class level. So, she's, you know, injuries like this are no stranger to Lindsey Vonn.

You know, she's able to compete at this point because of a very talented medical team has, has likely made it possible for her to decrease the inflammation, decrease the swelling to make it tolerable for her to even try. And then, you know, she's going to be skiing at a venue that really favors her. She this is her favorite downhill venue from everything that we've read and seen and what she said. She can probably tell you imagine every turn, every move that she's going to have to make with her eyes closed.

And so, that kind of planned patterning, is a significant advantage for a player that is going to have to compete on an ACL deficient knee. If you already know in your in your mind and in your brain, you're already envisioning the exact, motions and moves that you're going to have to take. In her case, the line that she's going to have to take then it comes down to exquisite balance, position sense, which she demonstrates that she has.

And so, what I would look for is to, it would be of significant benefit if there are predictable snow conditions so that there are no surprises. No, no perturbations, as we call it that would be unexpected to change her, her need to take a certain line that she already has planned and those conditions will be important.

She has the innate ability to aggressively stay on top of her skis. If you watch how she skis, these downhills, it's really incredible to watch how she's able to maintain her balance while airborne, while landing and so, I would look for her to stay right on top of her skis if she gets thrown back unexpectedly backwards on the skis than the way that the modern skis are made, they can turn themselves. And so, she's going to need to fight human nature and stay forward on her skis, which comes very naturally for a world class skier like Lindsey. But, you know, saying all these things that are that are in her advantage just take a moment and think what you're expecting that knee to do and luckily, the knee is attached to Lindsey Vonn and she has this incredible ability to get in the starting gate and without apprehension and attack the mountain. And it's going to require her to be able to do that, to ski that that course in the way that she has planned.

She's got to ski her race to make sure that her knee stays as stable as it possibly can be.

DEAN: It is incredible but yes, it sounds like to your point, it comes down to a great medical team. And being a world class, best in class athlete. Dr. Neal ElAttrache thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate it.

ELATTRACHE Thank you. Good, luck to Lindsey.

DEAN: Indeed, yes, big luck to her.

Can we continue to follow breaking news this evening. As the children of Nancy Guthrie make an emotional new plea to their mother's possible captors begging for her return. Savannah Guthrie with her siblings there saying, "We will pay".

We'll going to have more on this after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:46:45]

DEAN: We do have breaking news on this day seven of the search for Nancy Guthrie, the mother of "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie. Just about an hour ago, Savannah and her siblings posted a new message. This is what it said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, CO-ANCHOR OF THE NBC NEWS MORNING SHOW "TODAY": We received your message, and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us and we will pay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: CNN's Ed Lavandera is there in Arizona. He's been following this from Pima County. And what is the latest you can tell us?

LAVANDERA: Well, we are trying to monitor if there's any indication that law enforcement officials here will officially say something about where things stand in with what has been happening. But I do not anticipate that that's going to happen anytime soon. So, no word yet on whether law enforcement officials are going to acknowledge the communication that is happening now and is out in the public. And we will see where that goes. That's what we are monitoring. It still remains quiet here in the neighborhood where Nancy Guthrie lives, where we saw so much action by investigators yesterday.

But, you know, it's important to point out the context of the timing of all of this. There was a 5:00 P.M. deadline on Thursday that was alluded to in one of the original notes and at that moment, Savannah's brother, Cameron Guthrie, released a video. It wasn't until Friday morning where a second message was sent, and now, more than 24 hours after that, you see this latest video from the Guthrie family.

So, still officially no confirmation that these are authentic ransom notes. But we're not going to get that. I mean, clearly the Guthrie family believes and is taking this very seriously given the amount of back-and-forth communication that has happened.

We anticipate and hope that this ends well for this family -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Ed Lavandera with the latest in Arizona. Thank you for that.

And Daniel Brunner is a retired FBI special agent. He joins us now. Daniel, thanks for being on with us. We've got this new video. It is short, it is clearly they're using very specific language in that video. What stood out to you?

DANIEL BRUNNER, RETIRED FBI SPECIAL AGENT: What stood out to me? Exactly what you said right there is the of the message. It was getting the message across to the kidnappers to those who are doing this to Savannah's mother, is that they're willing to pay. And I'm sure the FBI was there with her. I'm sure the FBI advised her and one of the things the FBI will always advise is they do not advise you pay the ransom, but they understand what the family is going through. So, they will work with the family if that is their decision to pay the ransom.

So, the fact that this kidnapping isn't traditional, everything is being done not the normal way in the textbooks for crisis negotiation, for crisis management. It is being done through the mass media. The ransom notes are being masked by technology using I.P. address masking VPNs. So, these individuals understand how to do this, how to protect themselves, how to mask it from the FBI and some of the best cyber technology investigators that there are on the planet.

So, this is a very complex investigation. I'm really hopeful that this will come to a quick conclusion.

[19:50:15]

DEAN: I think we all are. There is this piece of it that you just noted, that the public nature of all of this that the Guthrie siblings, her children are having to play this out in public like this. That seems like an extra layer upon what is already an unimaginably traumatic situation.

BRUNNER: Absolutely, normally, kidnapers will communicate directly with the family, saying, listen, I want this amount of money. I want this ransom kidnappers wherever they may be. If it was to be a South American oil magnate or in the Middle East, or here in the United States, you have your, the kidnappings, which everyone was familiar with, the Lindbergh baby and Sinatra family.

So, those were the kidnapers communicating directly with -- this is different. This is different. This is an older individual in the family. They're sending their messages through mass media and clearly are not providing a return method to send a message. So, Savannah and her siblings have to send a message via social media. They're looking at that way.

So, those are completely different avenues that they're protecting themselves, and they understand these kidnapers understand how to really mask it. So that's why I'm saying. I'm fairly confident to say that this has been in the works, they've been planning it, and I'm sure looking at the cameras in the area surrounding the house at the Circle K, at the house, the vehicle, see if there's GPS in the vehicle. Did she have a passenger in the vehicle that is familial to the family? These are all little clues that the FBI, now that they are coming in, are able to piece together, working with the behavioral analysis unit in Quantico to properly identify somebody who may be in this circle and conducting this horrible situation.

DEAN: Yes, certainly, we do hope that somebody that, you know, that this is resolved sooner rather than later, that Nancy Guthrie is home with her family where she belongs. Daniel Brunner, thank you for your expertise. We appreciate it.

BRUNNER: My pleasure.

DEAN: And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:56:58]

DEAN: By this time tomorrow, more than a hundred million people are expected to watch the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots to face off in the Super Bowl. Who better to talk to than someone who's played for both teams? Former linebacker and pro bowler Chad Brown, Chad is a member of Seattle's 35th anniversary team.

Chad, great to have you here. Before we get your prediction on what you think will happen tomorrow, what should people know about these two teams?

CHAD BROWN, AMERICAN FORMER AMERICAN FOOTBALL PLAYER: Well, it's going to be a fantastic football game, as you just pointed out. But these two teams, they're similar, but they're different in certain ways. They're similar because they're both manned by defensive minded head coaches. They're similar and both their quarterbacks played well, but ones got a young quarterback, one's got a quarterback who's on a redemption track in Sam Darnold for the Seattle Seahawks.

In the end, I think this game is going to match up the explosive offense of Seattle versus the situational understanding of New England Patriots, and which side can be the most explosive for the Seattle or the best situational football, understanding how to play each specific situation the game, two-minute situation, four-minute situation, goal- line situations for the New England Patriots that will determine the winner of this football game.

DEAN: And I think if you asked anyone at the beginning of the season, you would not likely have found that many people would have said these two starting quarterbacks, Drake Maye and Sam Darnold, are going to be the guys at the Super Bowl. How special have they been this season?

BROWN: They both have been tremendous. For Sam Darnold to go from 13 losses last year to 13 wins, partly because of Mike Vrabel in that coaching staff, but also because of the improvement in his play. He's been tremendous and then Sam Darnold, kind of redeemed his career a bit last year with Minnesota, but ran into some trouble late in the season there and threw some interceptions and people began to doubt his ability to be the franchise quarterback of any football team. All he's done this year has been tremendous for the Seattle Seahawks, and one of the most accurate passers in all of football.

DEAN: Yes, all right, so dare I ask, what is your prediction and why?

BROWN: I love the explosive nature of the Seahawks. I actually think they're the more talented football team. But in the end, I trust Mike Vrabel and his situational football understanding.

I played 15 years in NFL, as you pointed out and of all the teammates I've ever had, he was the one who was most equipped to be an NFL head coach. And his situational understanding of how to play each part of the game as best as possible makes me think this is going to be a close game. Maybe one score game with four or five minutes left to go in the game, and that situational understanding I've been talking about comes into play for the patriots and Mike Vrabel. They find a way to get a close win.

DEAN: Wow, so just knowing, I think what you're saying is just knowing the game, knowing how to play that game, knowing how to make the most of your players. Listen, that's a huge plus on one side or the other. Chad Brown, thank you so much. We're looking forward to tomorrow and it is so great to have your unique perspective as someone who's been on both teams and knows some of these guys. Thank you so much.

BROWN: Thanks for having me on, I appreciate it.

DEAN: Yes, and don't forget we have a new CNN original "Bad Bunny and the Halftime Show: Rhythms of Resistance." It is premiering tonight at 10:00 Eastern and Pacific only here on CNN. You can also stream it on our CNN App.

And I want to say thank you so much for joining me this evening. I'm Jessica Dean, stay with CNN, "Real Time with Bill Maher" is headed your way next. Have a wonderful night, everyone.