The forensic tent that briefly stood outside Nancy Guthrie’s residence on Thursday morning was dismantled after just an hour. However, its short-lived presence has provided valuable insights into one of the most intensely observed law enforcement investigations in the country.
Jason Pack, a former FBI Special Agent and Crisis Negotiator, remarked on the tent’s importance, noting its role in concealing critical elements of the investigation from specific eyes.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Pack explained, “The purpose of the tent was to obscure the evidence collection process from both the public eye and the media, which have been focused on that location for nearly two weeks.”
He ominously added, “Authorities aim to prevent suspects or anyone linked to the case from monitoring live broadcasts to understand the direction of the investigators’ efforts.
“Moreover, they wish to avoid fueling speculation about the nature of the evidence before the investigation progresses further.”
‘They also don’t want speculation about what they’re collecting to get ahead of the investigation.’
When that happens, he said, witness statements are potentially contaminated as people refer to television coverage rather than their own memories. Tips may dry up as people see activity and assume investigators already know potentially useful information they were planning to share.
Pack said it was likely that investigators were measuring the tiles, on which Guthrie’s blood was spattered, to ascertain the exact height of the masked figure caught on Nest doorbell camera footage captured outside Guthrie’s house in the early hours of Sunday February 1.
The white forensics tent erected Thursday morning outside the house of Nancy Guthrie stood for only an hour before it was removed
A chilling masked figure was seen outside Nancy Guthrie’s home the night she went missing
Nancy Guthrie was abducted from her $1 million Tucson home in the early hours of February 1
He said: ‘It’s possible they received new information through a tip or through forensic video review and enhancement that directed them back to a specific area of interest in the porch.
‘It’s also possible they’re taking precise measurements of the archway, the bricks, the stones and other fixed structures on that porch.
‘Those measurements would allow the FBI’s Forensic Audio, Video and Image Analysis Unit (FAVIAU) back at Quanitco to calculate an accurate height estimation on the suspect seen in the doorbell footage.
‘When you have fixed reference points at known dimensions and HD video of a person standing near them you can get a very reliable number.’
Pack said: ‘The suspect in this case went to considerable effort to eliminate the visual evidence. The FBI has an entire bench of forensic specialists whose job it is to defeat that effort.’
Terrifyingly, the ski mask-wearing figure seen on the doorbell camera is likely tracking the coverage of the case, searching for clues as to how close law enforcement is to identifying them, Pack said.
He explained: ‘That person has already seen themselves on television or social media whether it’s directly or catching sight of it in a store or a restaurant. They know their image is out there and they’re watching.’
It has been twelve days since the 84-year-old mother of Today show anchor Savannah Guthrie was reported missing from her home in Tucson, Arizona.
Since then, details have been scant – blood spatters found at her front door were determined to be from Nancy’s own blood.
Former FBI Special Agent and Crisis Negotiator Jason Pack told the Mail that investigators likely erected the tent to prevent the abductor from seeing the evidence they have collected
A Pima County Sheriff’s deputy stands guard outside Nancy Guthrie’s house on Thursday
Investigators search the edges of Nancy Guthrie’s street in the Catalina Foothills neighborhood of Tucson, Arizona on Wednesday
One ransom note has been exposed as fraudulent with a California man now facing federal charges for sending the fake demand.
Another, reportedly for $6million in Bitcoin and sent to various media outlets, remains unverified, with no direct communication established between the family or negotiators and its writer despite Savannah participating in several emotional Instagram videos during which she appealed to the purported kidnappers and vowed ‘we will pay.’
A black nitrile glove that looks similar to the one Nancy’s abductor wore in the chilling doorbell camera footage was recovered near her home.
The Daily Mail understands the lone glove, found lying in a small shrub, was bagged up, taken by authorities and submitted for DNA analysis. Officials have not given a definitive answer on who it belonged to.
Two investigators also emerged from the home of Nancy’s daughter Annie Guthrie on Wednesday with a paper grocery sack and a white trash bag.
One, still wearing blue protective gloves, also took a stack of mail from the roadside mailbox. They drove away without speaking to reporters.
Annie and her husband Tommaso Cioni, who live several miles away from Guthrie, were among the last people to see the 84-year-old before she was abducted.
Investigators have also expanded their request for security video from Nancy Guthrie’s neighbors in the Catalina Foothills area.
Today show host Savannah Guthrie and her mother Nancy Guthrie in 2021
Savannah and her siblings, Camron and Annie, in a video they shared online asking for help
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department has asked people to check their cameras for video from 9pm to midnight on January 11. That’s nearly three weeks before Guthrie went missing.
They have also requested footage from 9.30am to 11am on January 31, hours before Nancy’s abduction. Investigators said there was a suspicious vehicle spotted on Via Entrada around 10am on January 31.
Authorities have said Guthrie, 84, was taken against her will. They say she takes several medications and there’s concern she could die without them.
