TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Authorities investigating the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie released the first surveillance images Tuesday showing a masked person with what looked like a handgun holster on her porch the night she went missing more than a week ago.
Video released by the FBI shows the person wearing a backpack, long sleeves and pants walking up to the door at the home of the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie. The footage shows the person trying to cover a doorbell camera near the front door with their gloved hand before putting plants to block the camera's view.
The images show “an armed individual appearing to have tampered with the camera at Nancy Guthrie’s front door the morning of her disappearance,” FBI Director Kash Patel said on X. In the videos, the person appeared to be wearing the holster attached to their front waist area.
Another video shows the person purposefully tilting their head down while nearing the front archway. Patel said the videos were pulled from “residual data located in backend systems” after investigators spent days trying to find lost, corrupted or inaccessible images, Patel said.
This was the first major break in an investigation that has raised more questions than answers, including whether the 84-year-old is still alive. It comes as law enforcement and her family intensified calls for assistance from the public.
DNA tests showed blood on Nancy Guthrie’s front porch was a match to her, authorities say, and she needs daily medication, has high blood pressure and has issues with mobility and her heart, including a pacemaker.
Authorities initially couldn't pull images from camera
Up until now, authorities have released few details, leaving it unclear if ransom notes demanding money with deadlines already passed were authentic, and whether the Guthrie family has had any contact with the abductors.
Savannah Guthrie posted the new surveillance images on social media Tuesday with the caption: “We believe she is still alive. Bring her home,” and phone numbers for the FBI and county sheriff. Within minutes, the post had thousands of comments.
Investigators had hoped that cameras at the home would turn up some evidence about how Nancy Guthrie went missing from her home in an updcale neighborhood outside Tucson, but the doorbell camera was disconnected early Sunday. And while software data recorded movement at the home minutes later, she didn’t have an active subscription, so none of the footage could be recovered, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos had said.