FBI releases surveillance photos and videos of potential subject in Nancy Guthrie case

The images show a person wearing gloves, a mask and a backpack appearing to tamper with the camera at Guthrie’s front door. “We believe she is still alive,” Savannah Guthrie said.

The FBI on Tuesday released surveillance photos and videos of a potential subject in the investigation into the disappearance of Nanc

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FBI Director Kash Patel posted four black-and-white photos and three short video clips of the person on X. The images show a person wearing gloves, a mask and a backpack appearing to tamper with the camera at Guthrie’s front door on the morning of her disappearance. The person’s eyes are visible through holes in their mask.

The potential subject is armed, Patel said. At least one of the videos shows a holstered gun.

Patel said law enforcement had “uncovered these previously inaccessible new images” as of Tuesday morning. The video was “recovered from residual data located in backend systems.”

The Pima County Sheriff’s Office, which is leading the investigation, released an identical statement and said no news briefings were planned at this time.

The images released by the FBI show the logo for Nest, a smart doorbell brand owned by Google.

Savannah Guthrie posted one of the photos on her Instagram account with a brief message: “We believe she is still alive. Bring her home. Anyone with information, please contact 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or the Pima County Sheriff’s Department 520-351-4900.”

Guthrie’s family reported the 84-year-old missing around noon Feb. 1 after she did not show up for virtual church services. She was last seen the previous night, around 9:45 p.m., after having dinner at the home of her daughter Annie Guthrie in Tucson, Arizona, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Office.

Guthrie’s disappearance set off a desperate search involving state and federal law enforcement agencies.

Three news outlets have said they received a ransom note referencing Guthrie. NBC News has reviewed a copy of the note, and the contents are consistent with the descriptions provided by the FBI and those news outlets. No law enforcement agency has so far substantiated the note.

Savannah Guthrie Mom MissingA member of the Pima County sheriffs office remains outside of Nancy Guthrie’s home, on Monday in Tucson, Ariz. Ty ONeil / AP

In an Instagram video Monday, Savannah Guthrie said her family believed her mother was “still out there” and asked for the public’s help in finding her.

“We are at an hour of desperation, and we need your help,” she said in part.

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Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said Guthrie does not have cognitive issues, characterizing her as “sharp as a tack.” However, he said, she has limited mobility and needs to take medication daily or “it could be fatal.”

Nanos has said he does not know whether Guthrie’s medication was still at her home.

“She is mobile. It’s a challenge for her to get, as the family says, she couldn’t walk 50 yards by herself,” he said.

She has a pacemaker — a device typically implanted under the skin to regulate the heartbeat — which disconnected from its monitoring app on her phone early Feb. 1.