By TY O’NEIL and JOHN SEEWER Associated Press
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Authorities investigating the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie released the first surveillance images Tuesday showing a masked person with what looked like a handgun holster on her porch the night she went missing more than a week ago.
Video released by the FBI shows the person wearing a backpack and a ski mask with holes for the eyes and mouth 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 a gloved hand and part of a plant they rip from her yard.
The images show “an armed individual appearing to have tampered with the camera at Nancy Guthrie’s front door the morning of her disappearance,” FBI Director Kash Patel said on X. In the videos, the person appeared to be wearing the holster attached to their front waist area.
Another video shows the person purposefully tilting their head down while nearing the front archway. Patel said the videos were pulled from “residual data located in backend systems” after investigators spent days trying to find lost, corrupted or inaccessible images, Patel 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.
“This will get the phone ringing for lots of potential leads,” said former FBI agent Katherine Schweit. “Even when you have a person who appears to be completely covered, they’re really not. You can see their girth, the shape of their face, potentially their eyes or mouth. You can see a gait that people around that person may recognize immediately.”
Authorities believe Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will. She was last seen at home Jan. 31 and reported missing the next day after not attending church. DNA tests showed blood on Nancy Guthrie’s front porch was a match to her, authorities say, and she needs daily medication, has high blood pressure and issues with mobility and her heart, including a pacemaker.
Authorities initially couldn’t pull images from camera
Up until now, authorities have released few details, leaving it unclear if ransom notes demanding money with deadlines 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.
Investigators had hoped cameras would turn up evidence right away about how Nancy Guthrie went missing from her home in an secluded neighborhood outside Tucson. But the doorbell camera was disconnected early Sunday, and while software recorded movement at the home minutes later, she didn’t have an active subscription, so none of the footage could be recovered, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos had said.
Savannah Guthrie expressed desperation a day ago
Heartbreaking messages by Savannah Guthrie and her family shifted from hopeful to bleak as they pleaded with the apparent kidnappers. In a video just ahead of a purported ransom deadline Monday, Savannah Guthrie appeared alone and spoke directly to the public, not the abductor.
“We are at an hour of desperation,” she said Monday. “We need your help.”
Her family’s turn to the public comes as much of the nation is closely following the dramatic case involving the longtime anchor of NBC’s morning show.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump watched the new surveillance footage and was in “pure disgust,” encouraging anyone with information to call the FBI.
The FBI this week began posting digital billboards about the case 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, he said.
Videos from Guthrie family appealed directly to abductors
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.
The next day, Savannah Guthrie’s brother again told the kidnappers to reach out “so we can move forward.”
“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.”
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Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press reporters Darlene Superville in Washington and Ed White in Detroit contributed.