TUCSON, Ariz. — A distinctive holster captured in surveillance footage from the residence of “TODAY” co-host Savannah Guthrie’s missing mother could provide crucial leads for investigators, experts revealed on Friday.
According to a police officer from the Miami area, who shared his insights with Fox News Digital, the holster is an inexpensive model that is readily identifiable and sold at only a few retail outlets. His analysis aims to assist law enforcement in tracing the whereabouts of Nancy Guthrie’s abductor.
The FBI recently collaborated with Google in a significant breakthrough to retrieve footage from Guthrie’s Nest doorbell camera. Although the physical device’s location is still unknown and Guthrie lacked a cloud storage subscription, investigators successfully accessed video capturing a masked and gloved individual on her doorstep. This area was later found to contain traces of her blood.
The released image by the FBI shows an armed figure, seemingly tampering with the camera at Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson, Arizona, home on the morning of her disappearance, which occurred on Sunday, February 1, 2026.
The suspect, described as of average build and height, was clad entirely in dark clothing and carrying a backpack, with a holster that appeared awkwardly positioned.
The Miami-based officer, who requested anonymity, explained that the holster’s light appearance is due to infrared imaging. The main section of the holster is constructed from a different material than its trim. Its distinctive shape and details are consistent with a Strategy brand hip holster, which can be found at select Walmart locations for approximately $10.
As of Saturday afternoon, the holster was listed as in stock at five Walmart stores in the Tucson area: 1260 E. Tucson Marketplace Blvd., 7150 E. Speedway Blvd., 7635 N. La Cholla Blvd., 1650 W. Valencia Rd., and 8280 N. Cortaro Rd., according to the retailer’s website.
A surveillance image, left, shows an unknown suspect in the Nancy Guthrie investigation with what appears to be a holstered firearm. On the right is a photo of a Strategy Large Frame Revolver Hip Holster identified by a police expert as the same holster worn by the suspect in the surveillance image. (FBI Arizona and Fox News Digital)
According to details on Walmart’s website, the water-resistant holster is designed to hold a revolver with a barrel measuring 4 to 6.5 inches. The product description states the holster is designed for right-hand use. The gun in the Nest video appears to be a Walther semiautomatic or something similar, the officer said, an unusual and distinctive pairing.
It has a distinctive shape and retention band and is not considered popular among firearms aficionados. As a result, the officer doesn’t expect that investigators will find many purchases.
Another identifiable item the masked suspect wore on Nest doorbell camera video released by the FBI this week is also available exclusively at Walmart stores — the Ozark Trail backpack.
An Ozark Trails backpack for sale in a Walmart store, Tucson, Arizona, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
While the backpack is common, popular and widely available, the holster was only in stock at two of more than a dozen Tucson-area stores as of Friday, according to Walmart’s online shopping site.
“I think it is more indicative of someone who was grabbing his stuff and improvising,” said Betsy Brantner Smith, a retired police sergeant and trainer. “But I don’t think this guy was a ‘professional’ either. I think his demeanor says that he was in on the kidnapping, the home invasion, whatever it’s going to be.”
Investigators can cross-reference purchases of these two items to try to find a suspect or narrow down the pool of persons of interest.
“Probably less people bought the holster than bought the backpack,” Brantner Smith told Fox News Digital.
An FBI billboard in Albuquerque, N.M., is raising awareness about the search for missing Nancy Guthrie. (KRQE)
Neither the Pima County Sheriff’s Department nor the FBI immediately responded to emails about the holster.
Guthrie, 84, was taken by force out of her home in northern Tucson in the early morning hours of Feb. 1, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.
There is a $100,000 reward for information that cracks the case. Dial 1-800-CALL-FBI.
