Authorities detained a man for questioning in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie on Tuesday, more than a week after “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie was apparently abducted from her home in Arizona.
In an aerial view, law enforcement and news broadcasters stand outside Nancy Guthrie’s residence in Tucson, Arizona. (Getty Images via AFP)Sheriff’s deputies arrested the man during a traffic stop south of Tucson, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. It did not immediately provide additional details. It’s not clear if the detainee is the same person who was captured on surveillance video outside Guthrie’s home.
The 84-year-old grandmother was reported missing by her family after she didn’t show up to church on the morning of February 1, and authorities say her blood was found on the front porch. The purported ransom notes were sent to news outlets, but two deadlines for payment have passed, most recently on Monday.
The family posted increasingly dark videos pleading for their mother’s return. First, they initially ask to contact the kidnapper or kidnappers and express their willingness to pay. But since then, Savannah Guthrie has turned to the public for any information, and on Tuesday asked for help identifying the man in the new surveillance video.
Here’s what to know about the case:
The new video reveals an armed, masked manVideos released by the FBI earlier Tuesday show a man wearing a backpack and a gun holster attached to his front waistband walking up to Nancy Guthrie’s door. Man’s gloved hand tries to block the camera’s view using plants.
Investigators initially said no video was available since Guthrie did not have an active membership in the doorbell camera company — much to the country’s sheriff’s dismay. But digital forensics experts have been working to find images in back-end software that may have been lost, corrupted or inaccessible, and FBI Director Kash Patel announced Tuesday that they had succeeded.
The images show “what appears to be an armed man tampering with the camera at Nancy Guthrie’s front door on the morning of her disappearance,” Patel said.
Shortly after the announcement, Savannah Guthrie posted several snapshots of surveillance images with the caption: “We believe she’s still alive. Bring her home,” along with the FBI and sheriff’s phone numbers. Within minutes, the post received thousands of comments.
White House press secretary Carolyn Levitt said President Donald Trump had seen the new surveillance footage and was “purely outraged,” 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.
Initial appeal to kidnappersAmong the four videos the Guthrie family released last week, there was a marked shift in tone.
Initially, Savannah Guthrie and her two siblings appeared to be speaking directly to their mother’s alleged kidnapper, after multiple media outlets received a ransom note demanding money for Nancy Guthrie’s safe return. Authorities have not explicitly confirmed the authenticity of the notes but said they are being seriously investigated.
The notes had two deadlines set: one for last Thursday and the second for next Monday.
The first two videos appeared to be a direct response to the potential ransom note.
In the first video released last Wednesday, Savannah Guthrie sat between her brother and sister and asked potential kidnappers for proof that their mother was alive.
“We’re ready to speak up. However, we live in a world where voice and image can be easily manipulated,” Savannah Guthrie said. “We need to know without a doubt that he is alive and that you have him. We want to hear from you and we are ready to listen.”
Cameron Guthrie, her brother, reiterated that plea in another video Thursday afternoon.
No response from potential kidnappersA second email regarding Nancy Guthrie’s kidnapping was sent to Tucson-based television station Cold on Friday afternoon, prompting a third video from the Guthrie family on Saturday.
“We will pay,” Savannah Guthrie said.
But two days later, he struck a low note, appearing alone and speaking directly to the public, not the kidnapper.
“We are in an hour of despair,” he said Monday. “We need your help.”
Connor Hagan, an FBI spokesman, said the same day En said the agency was unaware of ongoing communications between Guthrie’s family and the suspected kidnappers.
A crime scene in a quiet neighborhoodNancy Guthrie lived alone in the upscale Catalina Foothills neighborhood, where houses are spaced far apart and set back from the street by long driveways, gates and thick desert vegetation.
Savannah Guthrie grew up in Tucson, graduated from the University of Arizona and once worked at a television station in the city, where her parents settled in the 1970s. He joined “Today” in 2011.
In a video last week, he described his mother as a “good and light-loving woman”.
