Authorities got a huge break on Tuesday with the release of footage of an armed individual wearing a balaclava, gloves and a backpack approaching the front door of Guthrie\u2019s Arizona home and tampering with a Nest camera the morning she was abducted.<\/p>\n
The video has led to a flood of new tips, about 4,000 in the past day, according to the Pima County Sheriff\u2019s Department. A 36-year-old man was detained after a traffic stop south of Tucson but was released hours later. Deputies and FBI forensics experts and agents searched his family\u2019s home overnight but did not locate Guthrie.<\/p>\n
Law enforcement experts said the video represents the first big lead in the case but that unmasking the person will be a challenge. During the COVID-19 pandemic, police departments around the nation struggled to solve crimes \u2014 even ones captured on video \u2014 carried out by people wearing masks. In many cases, they used data from electronics and geocoding to help build cases.<\/p>\n
But experts say the real game changer in the Guthrie case will come if someone recognizes the person in the footage. Their clothing, gait and small details such as mannerisms can give a person away.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is technology which is helpful but not conclusive,\u201d said University of Hawaii Police Chief Andrew Black, a former FBI special agent in charge in Tucson. \u201cPeople who know the individual are in a better position to ID.\u201d<\/p>\n
The video appears to be the most compelling piece of evidence made public in the what many consider a highly unusual kidnapping.<\/p>\n
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Ransom kidnappings typically involve organized crime, some bitter business dispute or a personal conflict. In the vast majority of cases, the abduction is carried out by someone the victim knows, said Adam Bercovici, a retired lieutenant who oversaw the Special Investigation Section of the Los Angeles Police Department.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis kidnapping violates all the rules,\u201d he said, adding that given how long Guthrie has been missing and her medical history, he would treat the case as a homicide investigation.<\/p>\n
There has been no sign of the 84-year-old for 11 days. She was taken from her home without any of her medication and it\u2019s not clear how long she can survive without it.<\/p>\n
Kidnappings involving elderly people are rare. <\/p>\n
In the last year, there were more than 49,000 cases of abductions and kidnappings in the United States, according to FBI data. There were only 145 cases, less than 1%, in Guthrie\u2019s age group \u2014 80 to 89 years old \u2014 according to statistics.<\/p>\n
Bercovici and other experts say investigators are probably looking at people who might have come in contact with Guthrie and knew she lived alone in a relatively isolated area. Seemingly random kidnappings often involve a person known to the victim, even tangentially. Elizabeth Smart\u2019s infamous 2002 kidnapping in Utah was carried out by a man later identified as a handyman who had previously worked at the family\u2019s home.<\/p>\n
There was much excitement on Tuesday when police announced a man taken into custody for questioning, but that dissipated when he was released hours later and Guthrie still had not been located. A Sheriff\u2019s Department spokesperson said the man\u2019s detention \u201cwas part of follow-up on incoming leads.\u201d<\/p>\n
Officials have not officially released the man\u2019s identity or offered any details about if or how he might be connected to the case. The man told reporters outside the home that he\u2019d never heard of the Guthrie family and hadn\u2019t followed news about the case. Police didn\u2019t ask him any questions while he was detained, he said.<\/p>\n