A retired homicide and cold case sergeant is analyzing the “huge break” in the suspected abduction of Nancy Guthrie, “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie’s ailing mother who disappeared from her Tucson home nearly two weeks ago.
Troy Hillman, formerly of the Phoenix Police Department, told Us Weekly that the eerie footage and photos the FBI released this week of a masked individual approaching the doorbell camera from the 84-year-old matriarch’s home is “a huge break” and offers “a lot of clues.”
“It doesn’t mean it’s solved,” said Hillman. “It doesn’t mean Nancy’s home safe, but it means it’s a break in the case.”
Nancy Guthrie, who is physically frail but cognitively sharp according to family, was last seen at her $1 million residence on the night of Saturday, Jan. 31.
A frantic search has been underway ever since she failed to show up to a neighbor’s home to attend online church services the next day. Police quickly began treating the case as an abduction and released the footage following an alleged ransom note demanding millions in cryptocurrency.
The footage and photos provide “a ton of information” for investigators, from the suspect’s attire to their visible facial features and mannerisms.
“You’ve got a height, a weight, they can guesstimate,” said Hillman. “They can kind of get biometrics on the facial features.”
Hillman pointed out the ski mask and backpack, as well as “the way he wore his gun, what type of gun it was. The type of gloves he had on.”
Hillman added that once authorities “can kind of assess all” the footage offers, they can “put those out and then … get input from the community,” who might recognize the individual or what they’re wearing.
Authorities confirmed to NBC affiliate News 4 Tucson on Wednesday that they’d discovered a pair of black gloves in the expanded search area. Those gloves are being tested for DNA.
TMZ on Thursday published video recorded 5 miles from Guthrie’s home, at 1:52 a.m. local time on February 1.
A man, whose face is blurred, can be seen wearing a black backpack as he walks past a car to a fence, which he tries to put another black backpack over, before deciding against it and walking away.
The outlet pointed out that the apparent reflective straps on the second bag resemble those visible on the man in the footage from Guthrie’s home. Authorities previously confirmed, per TMZ, that the latter bag was an Ozark Trail Hiker from Walmart.
Authorities last week said Guthrie’s Nest doorbell camera disconnected at 1:47 a.m. and its software detected an individual at 2:12.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department detained driver Carlos Palazuelos, previously considered a person of interest, earlier this week for questioning, though he was ultimately released. The 27-year-old, who has denied any involvement, recounted the “terrifying” ordeal to NBC News.
Authorities, who are treating any alleged ransom notes as genuine, believe Guthrie’s kidnapper also lives in Tucson.
The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the discovery of Guthrie or the conviction of her captor.
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