Authorities investigating the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie released the first surveillance images Tuesday showing a masked person on the porch of her Arizona home the day 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 using plants to block the camera’s view.
“The video was recovered from residual data located in backend systems,” FBI director Kash Patel wrote on X, adding the images show “an armed individual appearing to have tampered with the camera at Nancy Guthrie’s front door the morning of her disappearance.”
WATCH | Video of masked person at Nancy Guthrie’s home:
Nancy Guthrie doorbell footage shows masked person at door
In two videos released by the FBI on Tuesday, a masked person who looks to be armed appears to tamper with the doorbell camera at the home of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie who is presumed to have been abducted about 10 days ago. FBI director Kash Patel wrote in an X post accompanying the footage that it was taken the morning of her disappearance.
Investigators had been hopeful that cameras at the home would turn up some evidence about how she went missing, but the doorbell camera was disconnected early Sunday.
And while software data recorded movement at the home minutes later, Nancy Guthrie didn’t have an active subscription, so none of the footage could be recovered, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos had 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.
The FBI said it recovered the images from residual data in the doorbell camera. (FBI/The Associated Press)
Up until now, authorities have released few details, leaving it unclear if ransom notes demanding money with deadlines that have 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.
Another image from the doorbell camera, provided by the FBI. (FBI/The Associated Press)Family videos
Guthrie and her family have posted a series of videos over the past week, each striking a different tone. The latest message from Savannah Guthrie, in which she appeared alone, was more bleak. “We are at an hour of desperation,” she said Monday, telling the public: “We need your help.”
Authorities believe Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will from her house just outside Tucson. She was last seen there Jan. 31 and reported missing the next day after not attending church.
Savannah Guthrie makes new video plea to public: ‘We need your help’
Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie appealed for help from members of the public in a new video on Monday, more than a week after her mother Nancy’s presumed abduction in Arizona. ‘We believe our mom is still out there,’ she said in the video posted to her Instagram page just hours ahead of an apparent ransom deadline.
DNA tests showed blood on Nancy Guthrie’s front porch was a match to her, and a doorbell camera was disconnected in the early hours of Sunday morning, the sheriff has said.
Authorities say Nancy Guthrie needs daily medication because she has high blood pressure and heart issues, including a pacemaker.
Investigators were in her neighbourhood several times over the past few days and plan to keep working Tuesday as they expand the search and follow up on new leads, the sheriff’s department said.
Three days after the search began, Savannah Guthrie and her two siblings sent their first public appeal to the kidnappers, telling them “we want to hear from you and we are ready to listen.” In the recorded video, Guthrie said her family was aware of media reports about a ransom letter, but they first wanted proof their mother was alive.
“Please reach out to us,” they said.
Law enforcement officials declined to say whether the letters sent to several media outlets were credible but said all tips were being investigated seriously.
The next day, Savannah Guthrie’s brother again told the kidnappers to reach out “so we can move forward.”
Savannah Guthrie says family ready to pay potential kidnappers ransom for mom’s return
NBC broadcaster Savannah Guthrie told the potential kidnappers of her mother, Nancy Guthrie, on Saturday that the family is prepared to pay for her safe return.
“Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We haven’t heard anything directly,” Camron Guthrie said.
Then over the past weekend the family posted another video — one that was more cryptic and generated even more speculation about Nancy Guthrie’s fate. “We received your message, and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her,” said Savannah Guthrie, flanked by her siblings.
“This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”
Up to that point, the family’s first three videos addressed the kidnappers directly. But just ahead of Monday’s deadline spelled out in a purported note, Savannah Guthrie urged people countrywide 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.”
Her turn to the public comes as much of the country is closely following the dramatic twists and turns involving the longtime anchor of NBC’s morning show.
The FBI this week began posting digital billboards in major cities from Texas to California.
Connor Hagan, a spokesperson for the FBI, said Monday that the agency wasn’t aware of ongoing communication between Guthrie’s family and the suspected kidnappers.
Authorities also had not identified any suspects or persons of interest, he said.
“Someone has that one piece of information that can help us bring Nancy home.”