Authorities released footage yesterday showing an armed man wearing a ski mask manipulating a doorbell camera at the home in the US state of Arizona where the mother of American TV journalist Savannah Guthrie lives, shortly before she was kidnapped in what is believed to be a kidnapping for ransom, Reuters reported today.
The discovery and retrieval of the recordings came after investigators searching for 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie took a man into custody for questioning, the Pima County Sheriff's Office said in an online statement. The man, who said he was taken in for questioning, later told reporters that he had been released.
The sheriff's office also said that deputies from that office and a forensics team from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted a court-ordered search of a "location" in Rio Rico, Arizona, about 60 miles south of Tucson, near the Mexican border.
The new developments come as investigators search for new leads in the disappearance of Guthrie, who was last seen when her family drove her home after dinner on Jan. 31. According to the sheriff's office, relatives reported her missing the next day after she failed to show up for Sunday church service.
Ski mask, gloves, backpack
In a breakthrough in the investigation, the FBI and the sheriff's office on Tuesday released video footage taken outside Nancy Guthrie's front door, captured by a Google Nest camera, which was later recovered from discarded data found in a digital "back-end" repository, according to Reuters.
The footage, photos and freeze-frames show a man wearing a wool ski mask, gloves, a backpack and a holstered gun approaching Nancy Guthrie's front door in the early hours of February 1, around the time she was abducted.
At one point in the video, a masked man tries to block the camera with leaves picked nearby, then appears to damage the camera. As he approaches the door, his head is lowered, which, according to a law enforcement source, suggests he was aware of the camera's location, Reuters reports.
Through the opening in the mask around the mouth, facial hair can be seen.
Sheriff Chris Nanos said the camera was disabled just before 2 a.m. local time on February 1, that about half an hour later Guthrie's pacemaker stopped connecting to her phone, and that she was allegedly forcibly taken from the house.
Major breakthrough in the investigation
Traces of blood found on the front porch were confirmed by DNA analysis as Guthrie's blood, officials said last week.
Law enforcement and family members described her as someone with limited mobility, fragile health, and someone who needed daily medication to survive.
At least two alleged ransom messages have emerged since Nancy Guthrie's disappearance, both of which were initially delivered to media outlets. However, no evidence of her being alive has been reported since the kidnapping.
Guthrie's disappearance has attracted a lot of attention. White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt began a press briefing on Tuesday by saying that she and United States President Donald Trump had just reviewed newly released footage in the case.
"The President encourages any American across the country who has any information about the suspect to call the FBI, which continues to assist state and local authorities on the ground conducting this investigation," Leavitt said.
Savannah Guthrie, 54, and her brother and sister have posted multiple video messages on social media pleading for information and urging the kidnappers to return their mother or contact them directly. The family said they would pay a ransom.
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Savannah Guthrie, longtime co-anchor of NBC's morning news program "Today," shared the new footage on Instagram on Tuesday with the message: "We believe she's still alive. Bring her home."
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