UPDATE: NOW
Terrifying masked figure in latex gloves with gun seen on Nancy Guthrie’s doorstep on morning of her kidnap
Terrifying photos and videos of a potential suspect in the Nancy Guthrie abduction have been released in a major evidence breakthrough.
An armed, masked figure wearing black latex gloves was filmed tampering with the doorbell camera at her $1 million home in Tucson, Arizona, the morning she disappeared.
The nightmarish footage was released by the FBI on the tenth day of the hunt for the 84-year-old mother of Savannah Guthrie.
The figure, clad in a ski mask and carrying a backpack, was seen tampering with Nancy’s Nest doorbell camera. It is unclear whether the individual is male or female, but some images appear to show facial hair above the upper lip.
Kash Patel said that the bureau and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department had to conduct a deep dive into backend systems to uncover the footage.
The FBI director added: ‘As of this morning, law enforcement has uncovered these previously inaccessible new images showing an armed individual appearing to have tampered with the camera at Nancy Guthrie’s front door the morning of her disappearance.’
A gun inside a holster appears to be clipped onto the individual and a penlight seems to be in their mouth.
The suspect is seen ripping the camera from its holder on the door frame. It was missing by the time sheriff’s deputies arrived that morning, on February 1.
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A masked figure on Nancy Guthrie’s doorstep in the early hours of her disappearance
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The individual stares right into the lens while holding some plants ripped from outside the Arizona home, seemingly to cover the Nest doorbell camera, on February 1
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The figure raises their fist while wearing latex gloves, with apparent facial hair also visible
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Moments before the individual apparently removes the camera outside Nancy’s home
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The doorbell camera is missing from the Tucson home in the wake of Nancy’s disappearance
A subsequent video released by officials showed the individual attempting to cover the lens with a clenched fist, then searching the area around the door, ripping a bunch of flowers from the entranceway, and waving them at the camera.
Another clip shared by the FBI showed the individual hunched over as they made their first approach to the door, bowing their head.
Nancy did not have a Nest subscription, which would have uploaded the images and saved them to a cloud storage platform. This meant investigators took longer to extract the images from her camera.
The images were released after investigators asked Nancy’s household staff to submit DNA swabs they intended to check against samples found inside the grandmother’s home.
Guthrie shared the haunting stills on Instagram, saying: ‘We believe she is still alive. Bring her home.’
Her mother was last seen entering her home in Tucson, Arizona, on the evening of January 31 after having dinner with her daughter, Annie, and son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni.
The next morning, she was reported missing after failing to attend a virtual church service with friends, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said.
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Nancy Guthrie’s son-in-law disappears from public view as his home is searched
Since then, law enforcement has continued to comb over the home, which sits on a large lot on a street with no lights, while Guthrie and her two siblings, Anne and Camron, plead for help in finding their mother.
Annie and Cioni realized she was missing around 11.10am last Sunday, the Pima County Sheriff’s Office said.
They reported her disappearance to police at 12.15pm. Her phone, wallet, vital daily medications and car were still at her Catalina Foothills home.
Cioni said he saw his mother-in-law enter her home through the garage before he drove off the night before at around 9.45pm MT.
Investigators found drops of blood on Nancy’s front porch – that were later confirmed to be hers – and that her doorbell camera was disconnected at around 1.45am.
Less than 30 minutes later, her security camera detected movement. Her pacemaker stopped transmitting data to her Apple Watch and phone shortly afterwards, suggesting she had been taken out of the devices’ range.
Nancy requires medication every 24 hours and it is unclear if whoever abducted her has ensured she has access to her medication.
There has been little new information about the case since last week.
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The individual scours the area around the door after having brandished his fist at the camera
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The individual then moves to grab a bunch of flowers from the entranceway
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Today Show host Savannah Guthrie has pleaded for the safe return of her mother Nancy
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The 84-year-old was last seen at the home she has lived in for more than 50 years
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Pictured: Guthrie and her two siblings, Camron and Annie, in a video they shared online asking for help
A ransom note sent to multiple news outlets last week set an initial deadline of Thursday evening and a final deadline of Monday evening.
The notes are said to have made specific reference to damage to Nancy’s home and the placement of a possession, both details that have not been shared with the public.
It is unclear if those specific pieces of information were accurate.
Guthrie said she and her family were taking the demands seriously but there has been no official update on whether the notes’ contents have been verified and if their senders really are holding Nancy captive.
Efforts to negotiate with the alleged captors also stalled, as a digital wallet referenced in the first letter for a potential transaction remained empty, according to TMZ, which was sent a copy of the note.
Once the payment was made, the alleged kidnappers claimed they would return Nancy to Tucson within 12 hours, the outlet reported.
After Monday’s deadline passed, the FBI said it ‘is not aware of any continued communication between the Guthrie family and suspected kidnappers.’
The bureau is now leading all elements of the investigation in connection with Nancy’s kidnapping, including alleged ransom notes.
That announcement came as Guthrie released a video message on Monday, pleading for help in finding her mother.
The search escalated on Friday, when forensics returned to Nancy’s home for a third time to collect new evidence, including a car from her garage and a camera from her roof.
Earlier that day, Sheriff Nanos told NBC News that he believed that Nancy is ‘still alive.’
While Nanos offered an optimistic view of the search, he previously admitted that investigators were in a race against time.
FBI ‘unaware of Savannah Guthrie talking with her mother’s suspected kidnappers’
The FBI said on Monday it is unaware of any continued communication between Savannah Guthrie’s family and suspected kidnappers more than a week after the Today show host’s mother went missing.
The FBI has still not identified any suspects or persons of interest in the mysterious disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, said Connor Hagan, a spokesperson for the FBI.
Savannah Guthrie said the family was “at an hour of desperation” in a video released on Monday, just hours before a purported ransom deadline apparently set by her mum’s abductors.
She did not mention the deadline in the video, saying her family in Arizona continues to believe her mother is out there and hearing everyone’s prayers.
Today show host Savannah Guthrie (Evan Agostini/AP)
(Evan Agostini)
“She was taken and we don’t know where, and we need your help,” Guthrie said in the video posted on Instagram, urging people nationwide to be on the lookout.
“No matter where you are, even if you’re far from Tucson, if you see anything, if you hear anything.”
The mysterious disappearance and search has riveted the country — from President Donald Trump, who spoke with Savannah Guthrie last week, to the online sleuths who have flooded social media with tips, theories and rumours.
The FBI is now asking for the public’s help on digital billboards up in several major cities in Texas, California, Arizona and New Mexico. The FBI has offered a 50,000-dollar (£36,500) reward for information.
Multiple news outlets received alleged ransom letters during the past week. At least one letter made monetary demands and set deadlines for receiving the money. The first deadline passed last Thursday but a second one was set for Monday evening.
Law enforcement officials declined to affirm that the letters were credible but said all tips were being investigated seriously. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said on Monday that law enforcement tip lines have received thousands of calls.
Authorities say they have growing concerns about Nancy Guthrie’s health because she needs daily medication. She is said to have a pacemaker and has dealt with high blood pressure and heart issues, according to sheriff’s dispatcher audio on broadcastify.com.
Savannah Guthrie expressed hope on Monday that her mum was still alive.
“We believe that somehow, some way, she is feeling these prayers,” she said, “and that God is lifting her even in this moment and in this darkest place”.
In a video on Saturday, she said the family was prepared to pay for her mother’s return: “This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”
Nancy Guthrie’s home in Tucson, Arizona (Ty O’Neil/AP)
(Ty ONeil)
Authorities believe Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will from her home just outside Tucson. She was last seen there on January 31 and reported missing the next day after not attending church.
DNA tests showed blood on Mrs Guthrie’s front porch was a match to her, and her doorbell camera was disconnected in the early hours of Sunday morning, Pima County sheriff Chris Nanos has said.
Outside the home on Monday, neighbours strolled by on their morning jogs and walks, while a county sheriff’s deputy remained stationed out front.
Law enforcement’s work at Guthrie residences will continue on Tuesday “as part of the ongoing investigative process, including the expansion of the search and follow-up on new leads,” the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement on Monday.
Detectives and agents carried out follow-up work in the neighbourhood and other locations over the weekend as part of the investigation, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said on Sunday.
“Investigators have not identified any suspects, persons of interest, or vehicles connected to this case,” the department said.
Investigators on Saturday were inside daughter Annie Guthrie’s home, about four miles from Nancy Guthrie’s house. On Sunday, an investigator was seen using a pole to search an underground tank behind Nancy Guthrie’s home.
