NANCY Guthrie’s disappearance has taken another turn after a retired FBI agent made a new discovery in security footage that could reshape the investigation.
The former agent says the detail may explain why one major digital tactic has produced little to no usable leads so far.
Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, was last seen at her home in Tucson, ArizonaCredit: Reuters
The FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department released surveillance photos and video of a potential subject as the investigation continuesCredit: X/CoffindafferFBI
Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, was last seen at her homeCredit: Getty
Jennifer Coffindaffer believes the person seen near Guthrie’s home may have been carrying a walkie-talkie, letting the group communicate without using cell phones and sidestepping geofencing.
Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, was last seen at her home in the Catalina Foothills area of Tucson, Arizona, on January 31.
Her disappearance has triggered a multi-agency search involving local law enforcement and the FBI.
“Several days ago I spoke of this big find. You see, this is likely why geo fencing has perhaps been a dead end providing no usable leads. Walkie-talkies are the untraceable way to communicate,” Coffindaffer wrote on X.
“He and his cohorts—likely he did not work alone may not look sophisticated, but they were,” she added.
Coffindaffer said she noticed what looked like a radio while reviewing the surveillance images released by investigators, Newsweek reported.
“I saw what appeared to be a square shape, and then an antenna protruding from the pants pocket of who I call porch guy,” she told Newsweek.
“And in that, it explained so much when I saw that,” she said.
She said the detail “bolstered the belief” the crime involved more than one person.
The FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department released surveillance photos and video of a potential subject as the investigation continues.
Investigators said they worked with private-sector partners to recover images or video that may have been “lost, corrupted, or inaccessible,” including because recording devices were removed.
Law enforcement has said the footage shows “an armed individual” appearing to tamper with the camera at Nancy’s front door the morning she vanished.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said there were clues indicating Nancy “did not leave on her own.”
He has also warned she needs daily medication and it could be fatal if she does not take it every 24 hours.
Nanos told the BBC he believes she was the victim of a targeted kidnapping, according to Newsweek.
Newsweek also reported that alleged ransom notes were sent to multiple news outlets after her disappearance.
Coffindaffer said walkie-talkies could mean no cell phones were used at the house, limiting what investigators can pull from tower data.
She added that investigators can still enhance raw video and images to pull more detail.
“There’s an entire lab unit that takes photographs and audio and visual recordings and they enhance them,” Coffindaffer said, pointing to cases where tags became readable after lab work.
Authorities have not publicly named any suspects or announced any arrests connected to Nancy’s disappearance.
Her disappearance has triggered a multi-agency search involving local law enforcement and the FBICredit: Getty