SECRET METHODS 

Bryan Kohberger digital forensics expert who cracked murder case reveals ways Nancy Guthrie abduction is being solved

INVESTIGATORS are likely working behind the scenes on digital forensics – including AI chat logs – that could nail Nancy Guthrie’s kidnapper, an expert has claimed.

Today Show host Savannah Guthrie’s mom Nancy, 84, was taken from her Arizona home in the early morning hours of February 1.

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Nancy Guthrie has been missing for more than three weeks and her family are desperate to have her returned home
 

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Heather Barnhart also worked on the Bryan Kohberger case, helping bring him to justice for murdering four students in their beds in Idaho (pictured in court)Credit: Associated Press
 

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A masked person was seen in front of Nancy’s home on the night she was takenCredit: Getty
She has been missing ever since and authorities are struggling to identify a masked, armed man seen on disturbing doorbell footage on the night of the kidnapping.

Heather Barnhart, Senior Director of Forensic Research at Cellebrite, feels not all hope is lost when it comes to finding Nancy’s kidnapper[s].

She previously worked on the case against Bryan Kohberger in the 2022 killings of four University of Idaho students.

Her role focused on analyzing cellphone and device data, including location history and phone activity patterns, to help reconstruct Kohberger’s movements before and after the murders.

She has since been following the Nancy Guthrie case and feels digital data could solve the case.

Speaking exclusively to The U.S. Sun, she said, “I believe there are [data] forensic experts involved and helping out.

“From law enforcement perspective, chasing email. So, looking at that email address and reversing it back to where it originated, could be huge in finding these people.”

She also believes police and the FBI could subpoena the likes of Chat GPT and Google for anyone using the specific wording in the notes, and if they searched Nancy’s name before the kidnapping.

“If the person writing the ransom note used open AI in any way, those logs are completely available on servers,” she said.

“So law enforcement could scan for AI chat logs with those exact words from those random notes and potentially tie it back to an IP address leading to someone’s home, which I think could be really unique.”

I think every criminal makes a mistake.”

Heather Barnhart

She said her gut instinct is that the first ransom note was real but believes there were many copycats torturing the family.

Alleged abductors initially demanded a $6million ransom in Bitcoin and set deadlines but when the family agreed they didn’t send more information.

Heather said, “I learned a lot about Bitcoin, and I was asked to not educate the public on how the FBI actually traces the Bitcoin. But you have to have some form of activity occurring.

“And the second someone makes that choice, I don’t want to call it an error, makes that choice, it activates a whole new investigation … is a good way of saying it.

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Heather Barnhart, Senior Director of Forensic Research at Cellebrite, feels not all hope is lost when it comes to finding Nancy’s kidnapper[s]Credit: Supplied
“But I think people initially wanted Bitcoin instead of just getting paid by the FBI, that amount, the award, they thought it would help them remain anonymous.

“DNA is absolutely a fabulous forensic artifact that leads to people of interest. Digital evidence is what seals the case. And it takes a long time.

“I think anything like that, they probably shouldn’t give the public too much information on, just because what if another ransom note is coming? I also don’t want to overeducate.

“And I think that’s why it’s important that they do bring in experts in different fields because one person cannot do it all.

“And if you have an agency where I say, ‘Hi, I’m Heather, and I can do all of these things for you’, that’s dangerous. So you need a lot of hands in the investigation, but the key is communication and not battling.”

Heather went on, “I think what will really solve this is any person of interest or suspect that they obtain, when they get their phone data, that phone will tell the truth of why it was done, how it was done, was it planned? It’ll paint the picture.

New surveillance footage

“I think every criminal makes a mistake. They do. There is not a perfect crime. There is going to be a hair, a trace of DNA, a digital footprint, a camera that caught you, something will be left behind.

“But every single digital trace has to be looked at by investigators, because you never know, again, what that one thread is that will unravel the entire investigation.”

Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her home in the Catalina Foothills and investigators believe she was taken against her will.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI have led an ongoing search, treating her disappearance as a suspected kidnapping, but as of now no confirmed suspect has been publicly identified.

Authorities have scaled back daily public updates, saying they will share new information only when warranted.

Law enforcement recently returned Nancy’s home to her family after a thorough sweep, signaling that much of the forensic work at the property may be done.

Neighbors have shared new surveillance footage from the night of her disappearance showing several vehicles driving near her home, which police are reviewing as part of the investigation.

Nancy’s TV host daughter Savannah is set to return to work on the Today Show after spending weeks helping with the search and publicizing appeals for information.

Investigators recovered DNA evidence from Nancy’s home and nearby areas, including gloves found about two miles away that match those worn by a masked man seen on video the night she disappeared.

However, lab tests show that these samples do not match any profiles in the FBI’s CODIS database and are also different from DNA found inside her home.

Some of the samples are described as low‑level, meaning there may not be enough material yet for a clear profile.

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Savannah Guthrie and her mom Nancy Guthrie on The Today Show before the kidnappingCredit: NBC/Nathan Congleton/Getty Images