Federal investigators are poised to return Nancy Guthrie’s residence to her family after an exhaustive month-long investigation into her disappearance, which has yet to yield any conclusive leads.
On Wednesday, law enforcement officials were observed revisiting the 84-year-old’s $1 million property near Tucson, Arizona, meticulously re-examining sections of the home they had previously inspected.
According to two federal law enforcement sources, this renewed activity was part of the FBI’s preparations to return the home to the Guthrie family, as reported by NBC News.
Officials have confirmed that there is no longer a need to designate the property as a crime scene or prevent the family from accessing it, even as the investigation into Nancy’s disappearance continues.
Nancy, who is the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, was last seen at her Catalina Foothills residence on January 31, following a dinner with her eldest daughter, Annie, and son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni.
Investigators suspect that Nancy was abducted or taken involuntarily.
Drops of her blood were found on the front porch, and eerie footage recovered from Nancy’s Nest doorbell camera showed an unidentified masked suspect standing at her front door in the early hours of February 1.
It is now believed that the suspect visited the house prior to the abduction, as one image showed the individual at her door without the backpack and gun holster he was seen carrying in the other footage.
Law enforcement officials were seen returning to Nancy’s $1 million home in the Catalina Foothills on Wednesday
Crews were seen once again combing through areas of the home they had already searched
The images are not timestamped though, and authorities said ‘any suggestion that the photographs were taken on different days is purely speculative’.
But law enforcement sources have told ABC News they believe the suspect may have approached the door the first time, noticed the camera and been scared off, only to return later, when he was seen tampering with the device and putting branches in front of the lens.
If it is the same person, ‘it could indicate that the person was there surveilling the place before the abduction happened,’ Jason Peck, a former FBI agent, told the outlet.
‘The fact that there was preparation and planning, which makes it more of a sophisticated type of criminal activity than someone just showing up.’
The timeline gap may help explain why investigators have asked neighbors to check their home security systems for suspicious people and vehicles going back to January 1, a full month before the abduction.
Yet the sheriff’s department also said on Friday they are ‘not ruling out the possibility that more than one person may be involved’.
In the meantime, Savannah Guthrie has raised the reward for any information leading to her kidnapped mother to $1 million.
‘We need to know where she is, we need her to come home,’ the Today host said in a teary-eyed video posted to her Instagram account Tuesday.
The flurry of activity at Nancy’s house was related to authorities’ efforts to return it to the family, sources familiar with the investigation have said
Nancy was last seen at the house on January 31, after returning home from a dinner with her daughter and son-in-law. Law enforcement officials are pictured in the backyard on Wednesday
Nancy is pictured with Savannah in a birthday tribute posted in 2020
She said the family still believes that Nancy could come home, as her sister Annie described their ongoing hunt as ‘blowing on the embers of hope’.
‘We also know that she may be lost, she may already be gone. She may have already gone home to the Lord that she loves,’ Guthrie said through her tears.
The journalist added that if Nancy has died, they will ‘accept it,’ but the family still needs closure.
‘But we need to know where she is. We need her to come home. For that reason, we are offering a family reward of up to $1 million for any information that leads us to her recovery,’ Savannah said.
She then pleaded directly with Nancy’s kidnapper and anyone with information about her whereabouts, saying: ‘If you’ve been waiting and you haven’t been sure, let this be your sign to please come forward.
‘Tell what you know and help us bring our beloved mom home so that we can either celebrate a glorious, miraculous homecoming or celebrate the beautiful, brave, noble and courageous life that she has lived. Please be the light in the dark.’
The FBI received 750 calls within just 12 hours of Savannah posting the video, according to NBC News.
A masked suspect spotted outside Nancy’s home on the night of her disappearance had apparently visited the house before
The unidentified suspect was later seen trying to obscure the Nest doorbell camera
Savannah is pictured with her sister Annie (top left), brother Camron (bottom left) and Nancy (bottom right)
Several hundred people are now working on the investigation, and more than 23,000 tips have been received.
At the same time, some local residents have taken it upon themselves to launch their own searches in the dense desert near Nancy’s home in hopes of cracking the case.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said it appreciates the concern for Nancy but asked people inquiring about volunteering to give investigators space to do their jobs.
‘We all want to find Nancy, but this work is best left to professionals,’ the agency said over the weekend.
As the investigation drags on, Sheriff Chris Nanos has been accused of ‘locking down’ the investigation from federal authorities.
Several sources also told the Daily Mail that the sheriff is insisting that only he and two of his highest-ranking inner circle will make decisions regarding the case of the missing 84-year-old.
Several PCSD sources also confirmed to the Daily Mail that just three decision-makers are leading the department’s investigation: Sheriff Nanos, Chief Jesus Lopez and Captain Juan Carlos Navarro.
Meanwhile, the tribute to Nancy outside her home keeps growing, with flowers, yellow ribbons, crosses, prayers and patron saints for older adults and in desperate situations.
