Nancy Guthrie investigation: What we know about the search

Investigators continue to search for Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “TODAY” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, whose disappearance has transfixed the nation.

Guthrie was reported missing Feb. 1 from her home near Tucson, Arizona. She was last seen the previous night around 9:45 p.m, according to Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos. Authorities have described the case as a possible kidnapping or abduction, but clues have been scarce, News.Az reports, citing CNBC.

Investigators got a major break in the case last week when the FBI recovered chilling doorbell camera images of an armed and masked man outside Guthrie’s home on the morning of her disappearance. The FBI has since described that man as a suspect.

The timeline of Guthrie’s disappearance

Guthrie visited her daughter Annie Guthrie’s house Jan. 31, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, before being driven back to her home in the Catalina Foothills, a quiet unincorporated community.

She was reported missing around noon the next day after she didn’t show up at a friend’s house to watch Sunday morning virtual church services, a source close to the family told NBC News.

At least three news outlets have said they received a ransom note referring to Guthrie. NBC News reviewed a copy of the note, and its contents were consistent with the descriptions provided by the FBI and those news outlets.

No law enforcement agency has so far substantiated the note. The absence of direct communication with the possible kidnapper and the lack of a clear ransom demand is highly unusual, former FBI agents said.

Nanos has laid out the following timeline of events. All timestamps are in Mountain time.

Saturday, Jan. 31
5:32 p.m.: Guthrie left her home in an Uber to go to Annie Guthrie’s home “for dinner and playing games with the family, just visiting,” Nanos said. Authorities spoke with that Uber driver, Nanos confirmed, though he did not provide specifics about that conversation.
9:48 p.m.: Guthrie was dropped off at home, where she employs staff members but lives alone. The garage door opened at that time, and it closed two minutes later.
Sunday, Feb. 1
1:47 a.m.: Guthrie’s doorbell camera disconnected. Nanos said the doorbell camera has not been located and confirmed there were multiple cameras at the home.
2:12 a.m.: Software detected a person on camera.
2:28 a.m.: Guthrie’s pacemaker disconnected from her phone.
11:56 a.m.: Guthrie’s family went to check on her at home and discovered she was missing.
12:03 p.m.: The family placed a 911 call, and deputies arrived about 10 minutes later.
What the investigation has found
Guthrie is believed to have been taken, possibly in the middle of the night, Nanos has said. The investigation, which involves local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, has so far not identified a motive.

Blood found on the porch outside her home tested positive for her DNA, Nanos said.

Nanos’ office hasn’t commented on whether there were signs of forced entry at the property.

Preliminary testing on gloves found about 2 miles from Guthrie’s home point to the DNA of an unknown male, authorities said. Those gloves appear to match the gloves worn by a person seen in security video from outside Guthrie’s home.

The DNA from the gloves did not match any samples in the FBI’s DNA database or DNA found at Guthrie's property, authorities said on Feb. 17.

Investigators are also turning to genetic genealogy in analyzing partial DNA found at Guthrie’s home, Nanos told NBC News that same day.

“We believe that we may have some DNA there that may be our suspect, but we won’t know that until that DNA is separated, sorted out, maybe admitted to CODIS, maybe through genealogy,” the sheriff explained, referring to the Combined DNA Index System, the FBI's DNA database.

All members of the Guthrie family were cleared as suspects, Nanos said on Feb. 16.

What we know about the suspect

The case appeared to enter a new phase Feb. 10 after FBI Director Kash Patel released Google Nest doorbell camera screenshots and video clips of a man wearing a ski mask and a holstered pistol outside Guthrie’s house the morning she went missing.

In one video, the man — whose eyes are visible through the holes in his mask — appears to tamper with the doorbell camera.

The FBI on Feb. 12 provided new identifying details about the man, calling him a suspect. The bureau described him as a man of average build, 5 feet, 9 inches to 5 feet, 10 inches tall, wearing a black, 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack.

The Guthrie family’s emotional pleas

Savannah Guthrie and her siblings, Annie and Camron Guthrie, have posted a series of wrenching videos on Instagram about their mother and the investigation.

In a video Feb. 4, Savannah Guthrie tearfully pleaded with her mother’s possible captor to provide proof of life and return her safely. In a Feb. 5 video, she directly addressed the possible kidnapper and asked the person to make contact with the family.

In a third video, posted Feb. 7, Savannah Guthrie said the family was willing to pay for Guthrie’s return.

“We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her,” Savannah Guthrie said. “This is the only way we will have peace.”

“This is very valuable to us, and we will pay,” she added.

In another video on Instagram on Feb. 9, Savannah Guthrie thanked the public for praying for her mother’s safe return and said the family believes she is “still out there.”

“We believe that somehow, some way, she is feeling these prayers and that God is lifting her even in this moment and in this darkest place,” she said. “We believe our mom is still out there.”

Savannah Guthrie made a renewed plea on Feb. 15 for the person who took her mother to come forward. In a video on her Instagram account, she addressed whoever has her mother or knows where she is, saying, "It is never too late to do the right thing."

What we don’t know

Authorities have declined to provide specifics about a variety of questions at the center of the investigation. Here are some key open questions and details that are unknown or haven’t been made public.

How could someone have entered Guthrie’s home at that hour?
The location of her doorbell camera. Authorities said Feb. 5 that it had been removed.
Whether any of the reported ransom notes are legitimate. They remain under investigation by the FBI.
Whether Guthrie has the medication she needs to take daily.

News.Az 

By Faig Mahmudov