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The sheriff leading the investigation into Nancy Guthrie‘s disappearance has revealed the real reason her Arizona neighbors were asked to hand over video footage taken on a seemingly-random date more than two weeks before she went missing.
On March 22, which marked the 50th day since the 84-year-old is thought to have been abducted, Nancy’s daughter, “Today” host Savannah Guthrie, asked her mother’s neighbors to hand over any security camera clips taken on three dates.
Savannah highlighted a new date of interest in her mother’s case, urging Tucson residents to bring forward any key memories from Jan. 31, Feb. 1, and Jan. 11, although she did not reveal the significance of this third day.
“It’s possible a member of this community has information that they do not even realize is significant,” she wrote. “We hope people search their memories, especially around the key timelines of Jan. 31 and the early morning hours of Feb.1, as well as the late evening of Jan. 11.
“We desperately ask this community for renewed attention to our mom’s case—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.”
Speaking to NBC News, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos explained that Jan. 11 had initially been flagged to investigators by Google—the company behind the Nest security camera mounted on Nancy’s front door, which had captured footage of a masked, armed man approaching her property in the early hours of Feb. 1.
Anyone with any information about Nancy Guthrie’s case should call 1-800-CALL-FBI, 520-351-4900, 88-CRIME, or visit https://tips.fbi.gov/.
According to Nanos, Google had originally told investigators that the footage taken of the masked man outside of Nancy’s home may have been captured on Jan. 11 and Feb. 1—but said that the media giant later walked back these comments.
“Google initially reported that date as a ‘possibility’ then later retracted the statement,” he told NBC host Liz Kreutz.
Nanos’ update came hours after Savannah shared an emotional message on her Instagram account, where she asked residents in her mother’s community to give their “renewed attention” to her mother’s case.
“We are deeply grateful for the outpouring from neighbors, friends and the people of Tucson. We are all family now,” she wrote. “We continue to believe it is Tucsonans, and the greater southern Arizona community, that hold the key to finding resolution in this case.”
Savannah, who shared the message on behalf of herself; her siblings, Annie Guthrie and Cameron Guthrie; and their significant others, admitted that her family currently feels like they are in a state of limbo, unable to properly grieve their mother until she is returned to them.
“We miss our mom with every breath and we cannot be in peace until she is home,” she wrote. “We cannot grieve; we can only ache and wonder. Our focus is solely on finding her and bringing her home.
“We want to celebrate her beautiful and courageous life. But we cannot do that until she is brought to a final place of rest.
“Thank you for continuing to pray without ceasing.”
Since Savannah’s mother disappeared on Feb. 1, detectives from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, along with agents from the FBI, have been canvassing her neighbors, going door-to-door with questions, and requesting that anyone who lives within a few miles of her home hand over any footage taken by their at-home security systems.
It was also reported earlier this month that investigators had been looking into a vacant home in Nancy’s neighborhood, with NewsNation correspondent Brian Entin—who has been on the ground outside of Tucson for weeks—stating that FBI agents had been “asking about” the dwelling.
“Some of the things that they’re talking about is there’s one neighbor that moved out before Nancy disappeared, and they are asking more questions about that situation,” Entin revealed on a recent episode of his YouTube show, “Brian Entin Investigates.”
“Not to say that that has anything to do with what happened. But that is something the FBI agents are asking about.”
While Entin did not share any other details about why the property may have lured interest from the authorities, retired Pima County SWAT commander Bob Krygier shed some light on how the dwelling might have played a role in Nancy’s capture in a new interview with Parade.
Krygier explained that, oftentimes in cases like this, abductors will look for a vacant property or structure near their victim and use it as a kind of hideout from which they can keep tabs on the person they are following.
The former official said that authorities are likely examining any empty homes near Nancy’s dwelling for this reason—investigating whether those responsible for her disappearance used any local property as a “staging area” before carrying out the crime.
“They could look at [these kinds of homes] as possible home bases or staging locations for the suspect(s). It would provide them a cover story to be at those locations at different times,” Krygier noted, adding that these properties would enable a kidnapper to remain “under the radar” while watching “the activity in the neighborhood.”
“A location like [a vacant home], out of the prying eye of the neighborhood, could also be a location to set up surveillance equipment if anyone chose [to do so]. It could be easily stashed in a structure or on the property without anyone knowing,” he went on.
What is the full timeline of Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance?
Nanos noted during a media briefing on Feb. 5 that, while times are approximate, his team has pieced together several pieces of evidence that indicate Nancy’s movements—and the timeline of her apparent abduction.
Nancy was reported missing at around 12 p.m. local time on Feb. 1, around 14 hours after she was dropped off at the property following a family dinner. When she failed to turn up at her usual church gathering on Sunday, her friends alerted her family, who found her home was empty.
SATURDAY, JAN. 31
5:32 p.m. Nancy travels to Annie’s house in an Uber for “dinner and playing games with the family.”
9:48 p.m. A garage door at Nancy’s house opens when she was dropped off at the property by her daughter.
9:50 p.m. The garage door closes, indicating that Nancy was inside the home.
SUNDAY, FEB. 1
1:47 a.m. Nancy’s doorbell security camera is disconnected.
2:12 a.m. Movement is detected on a security camera at the home. No footage of this is currently available.
2:28 a.m. Nancy’s pacemaker app indicates that the device has been disconnected from her phone.
11:00 a.m. Nancy fails to arrive at the home of a friend, where she had been due to watch a church service livestream.
11:56 a.m. Nancy’s family travels to her home to check on her and finds the property empty.
12:03 p.m. The family calls 911 to report Nancy missing.
12:14 p.m. Police officers arrive at Nancy’s home.
