Investigators exploring possible incident in weeks before Nancy Guthrie’s abduction, sheriff says

4 hours ago

WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News Staff,

TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD/Gray News) — As the investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance continues, authorities say they believe something related to the case may have happened Jan. 11, weeks before the 84-year-old was reported missing.

In this image provided by NBCUniversal, Savannah Guthrie, right, her mom Nancy speak, Wednesday, April 17, 2019, in New York. (Nathan Congleton/NBCUniversal via AP)

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos spoke Monday about the ongoing investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance. It’s believed the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie was taken from her home in Arizona’s Catalina Foothills. She was last seen Jan. 31 and reported missing Feb. 1.

Investigators had earlier asked anyone living within a two-mile radius of Nancy Guthrie’s home for any footage they have from Jan. 1 to Feb. 2. They had also highlighted the evening of Jan. 11, but it was unclear why.

Nanos is now revealing the reason for that request.

“We do believe that something occurred on Jan. 11, and that’s with the FBI’s analysis of the equipment and digital stuff they’ve done,” he said.

The sheriff stressed that remains speculative and would not share what evidence investigators have that has led to the interest in Jan. 11.

Photos and video of a masked person seen on Nancy Guthrie’s doorstep were released by the FBI on Feb. 10. The footage is believed to be from the night the 84-year-old was abducted. There’s been speculation that one of the images released may have been from a different night, possibly Jan. 11 because of investigators’ request for footage from that day.

But Nanos says because there were no timestamps on the footage, there’s no way for investigators to know if any of the images were taken on another day.

“There’s nothing there critical that we can say positively that this individual, with or without the backpack, was at that house on Jan. 11,” Nanos said.

He added that the suspect removing the doorbell camera is the only way they know the video footage is from the night of the abduction.

Nancy Guthrie’s family asked for the community’s continued support in a statement posted to Savannah Guthrie’s social media Sunday.

“We desperately ask this community for renewed attention to our mom’s case,” the statement read. “Please consult camera footage, journal notes, text messages, observations, or conversations that in retrospect may hold significance. No detail is too small. It may be the key.”

Nanos spoke about the Guthrie family’s plea to not forget about their mother’s case, saying while some may move past it, investigators will not. He said this is not considered to be a cold case.

“We have so much in front of us, and we believe we have good evidence in front of us,” Nanos said. “Will that dry up? Could I be wrong? Absolutely. Anything is possible, but we’re not giving up.”

Nanos says investigators continue to comb through the thousands of videos and tips they’ve received, trying to prioritize information that is most promising.

Nanos was also asked about the DNA previously collected from Nancy Guthrie’s house, but it did not seem to produce anything promising, with the sheriff explaining how extensively detectives went over the house, especially in the first few days.

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