Drop Dead Serious With Ashleigh Banfield

The 39-year-old Lexington, South Carolina personal trainer vanished after being seen at Planet Fitness and was later found dead in a wooded area near a bridge. Now, the autopsy results are in, but instead of answering the biggest question, how did Elena die, they’ve left the case wide open. In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield breaks down the strange timeline before Elena disappeared, the bizarre Ring camera video from days earlier, the possible EMS dispatch involving a disoriented woman, and the new autopsy update showing no obvious trauma, no clear cause of death, and no final manner of death. Forensic criminologist and death investigator Dr. Laura Pettler joins Ashleigh to explain why investigators are now turning to toxicology, medical records, and histological testing of Elena’s organs to figure out what happened in those final days.

A stunning new report is raising disturbing questions in the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Savannah Guthrie, after sources say an old ransom note claimed Nancy was dead and “buried with nature.” In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield breaks down the unbelievable new reporting around the alleged ransom notes, and the claim that Nancy may have died shortly after she was abducted. Ashleigh also speaks with TMZ’s Harvey Levin, whose team received early communications in the case and worked with the FBI as investigators tried to trace the people behind them. Harvey reveals what TMZ did and did not receive, why he believed one mysterious tipster may have known something, and the moment the FBI suddenly stopped responding. As the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping mystery grows darker, the biggest questions remain unanswered: who took Nancy, where is she now, and did the ransom notes tell the truth?

Chilling New Details: A body has been found in the search for missing Lexington, South Carolina woman Elena Moore, but the coroner says there was “nothing obvious” at first glance. We've also learned that Elena Moore’s husband spent 14 years as a local deputy before becoming a private investigator. Police said early in the investigation that he was not a person of interest. In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield is joined by Sergeant Vicki Rains, who was featured in Netflix’s hit true crime docuseries, Missing: Dead or Alive? Rains served for more than 20 years in law enforcement, including with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department’s Victims Services Unit. She weighs in on the unusual timeline, the strange Ring camera video showing Moore disoriented days before she disappeared, the husband’s law enforcement background, and the questions investigators still need to answer. 
Previous Video: https://youtu.be/aZ6UHHD29FU
Elena Katherine Moore, 39, was last seen on June 11 after signing in at Planet Fitness in Lexington. Surveillance later showed her walking near Publix on Old Cherokee Road wearing the same olive-green zip-up hoodie and black athletic pants she had on earlier that night. Days later, police said they found a body wearing similar clothing, but official identification and cause of death were still pending.

Breaking: A body matching Elena Moore’s clothing was found in a wooded area after newly obtained surveillance video showed the missing 39-year-old walking near Old Cherokee Road the night she vanished. Elena Katherine Moore disappeared in Lexington, South Carolina after she was last seen leaving Planet Fitness on Whiteford Way on June 11, wearing an olive-green zip-up hoodie and black athletic pants. Police later obtained surveillance video showing Moore walking through the Publix parking lot at 100 Old Cherokee Road around 9:17 p.m., still wearing the same clothes. Days later, investigators say a tip helped lead them to a search area near Old Cherokee Road, where a body was found wearing clothing that matched Moore’s last known outfit. In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield breaks down the strange and troubling timeline surrounding Elena Moore’s disappearance and the unanswered questions now surrounding the death investigation being handled by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. Ashleigh also speaks with NewsNation National Correspondent Mills Hayes, who obtained bombshell Ring camera footage from about a week before Moore disappeared. The video appears to show Elena Moore confused and disoriented at a Lexington apartment complex, picking up someone else’s DoorDash order, trying to follow a homeowner inside, and later telling the homeowner, “I don’t know what I’m doing.”
Mills Hayes:
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Nancy Guthrie vanished from her Tucson, Arizona home more than 135 days ago, and investigators have released almost nothing about what happened to the 84-year-old grandmother. But now, a new cybersecurity report on so-called “wrench attacks” and “proxy target attacks” has raised a disturbing possibility in the case: was Nancy taken not because of what she had, but because of who she was connected to? In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield breaks down the new report, the brutal rise of crypto-related kidnappings and torture-for-password crimes, and why Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos says the task force is aware of the report and has flagged it to investigators. Ashleigh also speaks with security expert Spencer Coursen, a former U.S. Army Ranger and former special deputy U.S. Marshal, about how these attacks work, why criminals are moving from hacking to physical violence, and what families can do to protect themselves from ransom, extortion, and proxy targeting.