The FBI is said to have acquired names and photographs of individuals resembling the masked figure captured by security cameras outside Nancy Guthrie’s residence on the evening she vanished.
Guthrie, who is 84 years old, was last observed on the night of January 31, with suspicions that she was abducted in the early hours of February 1.
Her disappearance was shrouded in mystery, with initial clues being traces of blood on her front door and her disconnected door camera.
A significant development in the investigation occurred on February 10 when the FBI discovered previously overlooked surveillance footage from the night of her disappearance, showing a masked person approaching her house.
According to CBS News, the FBI has now identified individuals whose appearances match the enigmatic masked suspect.
The chilling footage depicts what investigators believe to be a man tampering with Nancy’s camera, carrying what seems to be a gun in a holster.
Local business and gun shop owners told CBS that authorities have asked them if they recognize any names and faces that could potentially be the suspect.
One gun shop owner told the outlet that he received a packet from law enforcement with photos of driver’s licenses and pictures from social media.
Nancy Guthrie, right, has been missing for 18 days in what authorities are investigating as a kidnapping. Her daughter, Today show host Savannah Guthrie, left, has publicly pleaded in video messages for Nancy’s alleged captor to return her safely
FBI Director Kash Patel said on February 10 that investigators uncovered footage of a masked individual approaching Nancy’s home in the early hours of her disappearance
The eerie video footage depicted a masked individual, believed to be a man, disabling Nancy’s front door camera the night she vanished
The gun shop owner told authorities that he didn’t recognize any of the names or faces. He searched the company’s purchase history for names, but no leads came of it.
Philip Martin, the co-owner of Armor Bearer Arms, told local CBS affiliate, KOLD, that an FBI agent visited his shop sometime between February 10 and 12.
Martin said he received a packet of between 18 and 24 images and names to check if any had purchased a gun at his store in the last year.
He searched the company database but didn’t find any matches. The FBI agent didn’t disclose what the names were regarding, but Martin told KOLD he believed they matched the suspect’s description.
‘Based on that video I saw of the kidnapper at the house who was caught on camera — the facial hair that I saw on the video reminds me a lot of these photographs,’ Martin told KOLD.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told Fox News that investigators haven’t narrowed their search down to a specific group.
When asked whether authorities have identified around 40 people as potential suspects, Nanos replied that those claims were false.
‘We haven’t narrowed it down to anything other than we have pieces of evidence that we’re looking at to try to find this individual,’ the sheriff added.
The sheriff’s office said in an update on Wednesday that they were currently analyzing biological evidence found at Nancy’s residence.
The number of DNA profiles under lab analysis wasn’t disclosed. Police sources told the New York Post that authorities also uncovered new DNA evidence during a recent search of Nancy’s home that doesn’t belong to her.
Authorities also shared on Wednesday that the reward for information leading to Nancy’s return or her captor’s arrest had increased to $202,500.
An anonymous donation of $100,000 was added to the reward pool, in addition to $2,500 from 88 Crime.
Attorney and President of Milwaukee Crime Stoppers, Michael Hupy, previously announced that he would be offering $100,000 through his organization.
The sheriff’s department hasn’t confirmed whether Hupy is the ‘anonymous donor’ who put up the additional $100,000.
Reports previously circulated that the sheriff’s department was using lie detector tests on potential suspects, but authorities later clarified that the polygraph tests were ordered for new hires.
