More than five months after Nancy Guthrie vanished from her Tucson home, a theory suggesting internal disagreement within the FBI over how to handle the case has gained significant traction online, even as "Today" show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie faces renewed public criticism over a network decision to have her cover an unrelated missing-persons story.

The FBI discord theory originated with retired FBI agent Steve Moore, who said in a recent interview that the bureau's conflicting public statements about ransom notes sent in the case point to a deeper disagreement among investigators. "The more I see this, the more I think that there is some significant disagreement within the FBI investigation on what they're dealing with," Moore said. "Right down to the validity of certain pieces of evidence." Moore has suggested the discrepancy may stem from differing perspectives between the FBI's Phoenix field office, which has jurisdiction over the case, and bureau headquarters, noting that such internal divergence is common in complex investigations. A number of social media users and true-crime followers have since embraced the theory as a plausible explanation for the shifting statements coming out of the investigation.

Separately, Savannah Guthrie has faced a wave of public criticism after "Today" assigned her to report on the rescue of a 70-year-old man who had gone missing for nearly a week in the California wilderness. The segment, which aired July 6 and was later posted to the show's TikTok account before being deleted, showed........

© International Business Times