Surveillance photos and videos showing a subject in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie’s mother, were released by authorities on Tuesday.
The FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department in Arizona posted the images to social media, showing a masked person wearing a backpack on the porch of Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson, Arizona, home. FBI Director Kash Patel also posted videos of the individual outside the home. Patel was at the law enforcement command post for the Guthrie investigation in Arizona on Monday, according to law enforcement sources.
A 27-second video shows the person approaching the front door and raising a gloved hand to a home security camera at Nancy Guthrie’s front door before walking away. A 14-second video shows the person facing the camera holding a flashlight in their mouth before covering the camera lens with some vegetation. Law enforcement officials told CBS News the material the individual is holding up appears to be prairie brush.
The FBI said law enforcement uncovered the images showing an armed individual appearing to have tampered with the camera on the morning of Guthrie’s disappearance. The 84-year-old was reported missing Feb. 1.
According to law enforcement sources, the masked figure possibly has a gun on the front of their belt. From their behavior, the individual appears to already know there’s a camera on the Guthrie’s home.
Savannah Guthrie reacted to the new images on social media, writing: “Someone out there recognizes this person. We believe she is still out there. Bring her home.”
Photos from Nancy Guthrie’s home surveillance video
Two of the images released by the FBI of a subject seen on surveillance video in the Nancy Guthrie case.
FBI
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told reporters Thursday that a doorbell camera at Guthrie’s home was disconnected at approximately 1:47 a.m. that day. At around 2:12 a.m., one of the home’s cameras detected what the system classified as a person, but Nanos said at the time that video footage wasn’t available because the home wasn’t signed up for that service, and footage would be overwritten after a period of time.
The FBI and the sheriff’s department said Tuesday the images were recovered from “residual data located in backend systems.” Two law enforcement sources told CBS News the FBI worked with Google to get the Nest camera video.
Two of the images released by the FBI of a subject seen on surveillance video in the Nancy Guthrie case.
FBI
Two law enforcement sources told CBS News the individual in the images is considered a subject that they are seeking to identify. The person at this point is not considered a suspect or a person of interest, according to the sources.
No suspects have been identified in the investigation. Two law enforcement sources earlier told CBS News that several vehicles were captured on surveillance cameras in the area on the night of the disappearance and were being tracked down. Investigators also removed a camera from Nancy Guthrie’s roof and towed her car from her garage to examine it for possible fingerprints and potential other clues, according to the sources.
After the new images were distributed Tuesday, the sheriff’s department said no press briefings were planned at this time.
New photos, videos are latest twist in Nancy Guthrie case
The new images are the latest development in a case that has attracted attention nationwide. In Washington, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said her afternoon press briefing was delayed because she and President Trump were reviewing the newly released footage.
Leavitt said Mr. Trump encourages anyone with information about the individual in the footage to call the FBI.
“The prayers of this entire White House are with Savannah and her family at this time,” Leavitt said. “We hope this person is found soon and that her mother is brought home safely.”
Savannah Guthrie has asked people across the country for help with the search, saying in a social media video Monday that the family believed Nancy Guthrie was “still out there” and they don’t know where.
“I’m coming on just to ask you, not just for your prayers but no matter where you are, even if you’re far from Tucson, if you see anything, if you hear anything, if there’s anything at all that seems strange to you, that you report to law enforcement,” Savannah Guthrie said. “We are at an hour of desperation, and we need your help.”
The latest deadline from an apparent ransom note that demanded payment in bitcoin passed Monday. An FBI spokesperson told CBS News on Monday that the bureau wasn’t aware of any continued communication between the Guthrie family and the suspected kidnappers.
“Someone has that one piece of information that can help us bring Nancy home,” the spokesperson said. “We need that person to share what they know. Please call us at 1-800-CALL-FBI.”
The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to Nancy Guthrie’s recovery or a conviction in the case.
The search for Guthrie is in its second week. Critical medication was left behind at her home, adding more urgency to efforts to find her.
Over the weekend, Savannah Guthrie spoke directly to those who may be behind her mother’s disappearance in another social media video, saying the family would pay for her return.
“We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her,” Savannah Guthrie said in Saturday’s Instagram video with her siblings, sister Annie Guthrie and brother Camron Guthrie, sitting beside her. “This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”
contributed to this report.
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