The investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie intensified on Friday night when law enforcement officials seized a vehicle and discovered a camera on the roof of her Tucson, Arizona home. This occurred shortly after receiving another ransom note allegedly from her kidnappers.
Forensic experts were observed meticulously examining the roof of Nancy’s residence, where they uncovered a camera that had been overlooked in prior inspections.
Additionally, a dark SUV was removed from the home’s garage. This marked the third visit by investigators to the location since Nancy was declared missing last Sunday.
Throughout the day, more than a dozen vehicles, including those from forensic teams, FBI agents, and sheriff’s deputies, were seen arriving at the property.
While officials have not disclosed specifics about the most recent search, it coincided with the arrival of a second message sent to the Tucson news station KOLD, purportedly from those holding the 84-year-old woman for ransom.
Previously, the news outlet, along with TMZ, received a ransom letter on Tuesday. Authorities are treating these communications as “serious leads,” though their authenticity has yet to be confirmed.
KOLD said the new letter did not make ransom demands nor provide proof of life, but the previous letters demanded millions in bitcoin be paid in exchange for Nancy, and gave a final deadline of Monday.
As Friday saw the investigation intensify, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said he believes Nancy is ‘still alive.’
Six days into the search for Today Show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother Nancy, investigators returned to her Arizona home to seize new evidence amid hopes she is still alive
Investigators were seen scouring the roof of Nancy Guthrie’s home in Tucson, Arizona on Friday evening, and reportedly found a camera that had been missed in previous searches
Nanos said his investigators and the FBI are holding hope that Nancy is being held alive, and said interviews with staff at her home proved ‘helpful’ to the investigation.
‘What I believe is that Nancy was removed from her home against her will, and that we need to find her. That’s what I believe. She’s still alive,’ Nanos said Friday.
‘I believe that I have no choice until something shows me, a piece of physical evidence shows me that that’s different.’
The sheriff said deputies had interviewed Nancy’s landscape crew, pool maintenance workers, a housekeeper, and an Uber driver who drove her to her daughter Annie’s home hours before she vanished.
‘I think they have pretty much completed that,’ Nanos said. ‘We’ve talked. They’ve all been very cooperative. They provided certain information that was helpful to us.’
While Nanos offered an optimistic view of the search, he previously admitted investigators are in a race against time, with the 84-year-old suffering health problems and is believed to be without daily medications.
A dark SUV was towed from the property on Friday
Forensics teams were seen arriving at the home on Friday evening, soon after law enforcement acknowledged a second letter had been sent to a local news outlet claiming to be from Nancy’s abductors
Investigators seen at Nancy Guthrie’s home on Friday evening
In another twist to the investigation on Friday, authorities said a ‘vehicle of interest’ was identified, and was believed to have been seen at a Circle K convenience store in the Tucson-area.
A Circle K spokesperson told the Daily Mail that a ‘tip’ led law enforcement to the vehicle, and said the company was assisting investigators by providing access to its surveillance video.
It is unclear why the vehicle appeared to be connected to the disappearance, nor if any suspects have been identified as a result.
The evidence seized on Friday marks the biggest development in the search since blood was discovered outside Nancy’s front door soon after she was reported missing.
Images from the scene show blood droplets leading from the door to the driveway, and the doorbell camera had been removed – which officials later said was disconnected at 1:47am on the night she vanished.
In a public appeal following the reports of the ‘ransom notes’, Nancy’s Today Show host daughter Savannah joined her siblings Annie and Camron in sharing a video pleading with her potential abductors to communicate with them.
Blood was spotted on the walkway of Nancy’s Tucson, Arizona home
Nancy’s Ring doorbell camera was also missing
Nancy Guthrie, 84, the mother of Today Show star Savannah Guthrie, vanished from her home in Tucson, Arizona on the night of January 31
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos revealed at a press conference on Thursday that Nancy Guthrie’s doorbell camera disconnected in the dead of night around the time she disappeared
Confusion surrounding the legitimacy of the ‘ransom letters’ follows the arrest of California resident Derrick Callella on Thursday, after he was allegedly found to have texted Nancy’s daughter Annie and son-in-law Tommaso Cioni in a hoax ransom plot.
Callella allegedly admitted to sending the messages to capitalize on the turmoil surrounding Nancy’s abduction and potential ransom demands, and told investigators he was ‘just trying to see if the family would respond.’
The messages Callella sent to the Guthrie family are believed to be separate to those sent to TMZ and KOLD this week – one of which reportedly set a 5pm deadline on Thursday for millions in Bitcoin to be paid ‘or else.’
TMZ reported that a secondary, ‘more serious’ deadline was also set for Monday.
With no suspects or persons of interest publicly named, President Donald Trump suggested the investigation had progressed promisingly on Friday evening.
Trump told reporters on Air Force One that the investigation was going ‘very well’, and said he understands investigators ‘have some clues that I think are very strong.’
‘We could have some answers coming up fairly soon,’ Trump teased, saying that ‘a lot has taken place in the last couple hours’ in the search.
Officials previously said they have no reason to suspect the abduction is tied to Nancy’s daughter Savannah’s celebrity, but said they have not ruled out any inquiries.
