This has bothered me too!
Retired FBI agent breaks down importance of Savannah Guthrie’s use of word ‘celebrate’ in video plea
The word “celebrate” that Savannah Guthrie used in the family’s latest video plea to whomever kidnapped her mother, Nancy Guthrie, was intentional and may be instrumental in a peaceful negotiation for the return of the missing 84-year-old, retired FBI special agent Jason Pack told Fox News Digital on Monday.
Savannah Guthrie made the plea in a video the family posted to Instagram on Saturday.
“We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her," Savannah Guthrie said, seated between her siblings, Annie Guthrie and Camron Guthrie.
“The word ‘celebrate’ stood out to me immediately," Pack said. "Savannah didn’t say ‘surrender her’ or ‘give her back.’ She said return her so we can ‘celebrate.’ That’s the language of resolution, not confrontation. In any negotiation, you want to offer the other party a way to see this ending positively and peacefully for them too. That’s exactly what the family is doing.”
Pack praised the Guthries for showing “extraordinary discipline under unimaginable grief and pressure” in each subsequent video message to the kidnappers.
“In four days, they moved from an emotional plea, to a proof-of-life demand, to a public offer to pay,” he said. “Every step was designed to keep the line of communication open and lower every possible barrier to Nancy’s safe return.”
He added that the family saying “we will pay” is a deliberate strategy to concede to the potential abductors that the family “is serious, that they’re not stalling, and that there is a path forward.”
Pack said that he remains encouraged as long as the lines of communication remain open, noting that the investigation has now entered what he called “the most critical window.”
“Even though it’s coming through unconventional channels, local and national media outlets rather than direct contact, the fact that someone is engaging means there is a thread to follow,” Pack said. “If they’re communicating, that’s a welcomed development. The goal now is to keep that thread from breaking.”
Fox News Digital's Julia Bonavita contributed to this report.
Posted by Stephen Sorace