The Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI said their investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance is drawing heavily on public tips after the agencies released videos showing a masked person on her porch.
Officials said the sheriff’s department received more than 4,000 calls within 24 hours after the release of the videos, prompting investigators to expand their work and field submissions through a 24-hour operation.
With the case now in its second week, law enforcement officials described an effort that is as much about sorting and filtering as it is about searching—because the authorities still need new information that can be acted upon.
“In a situation like this, you really cannot do what’s been done without tips and public input,” said Roberto Villaseñor, a former Tucson police chief. “They have processed the scene. But once that’s done and exhausted, it’s hard to move forward without additional information coming in.” Villaseñor’s comments reflected the idea that the public’s observations can help investigators connect details to leads that may not be apparent from physical evidence alone.
The Pima County sheriff and the FBI announced phone numbers and a website for tips about the apparent kidnapping of Guthrie, 84, the mother of NBC “Today” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie. The sheriff’s department said several hundred detectives and agents were assigned to the case. Separately, the FBI said it has collected more than 13,000 tips since Feb. 1, while the sheriff’s department said it has taken at least 18,000 calls.
Authorities said every tip is reviewed for credibility and relevance, with the FBI describing the review as a 24-hour operation. The FBI said it would not comment on the tips it received. The process, investigators said, can include submissions that range from plausible leads to details that should be disregarded.
Investigators also continued collecting potential physical evidence. The sheriff’s department said investigators found several gloves, with the nearest glove about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from Guthrie’s home, and submitted them for lab analysis. The department said investigators collected DNA from Guthrie’s property that does not belong to Guthrie or to people in close contact with her, and investigators are working to identify who it belongs to.
The sheriff said it is sending evidence requiring forensic analysis to the same out-of-state lab that has been used since the beginning of the case, an approach local FBI leadership agreed to. In a statement, the sheriff’s department emphasized its coordination with the FBI, saying, “The Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI continue to work jointly on this case. Our strong partnership is critical, and we remain fully committed to this collaborative investigation.”
As part of the investigation’s operational activity, officers blocked off a road into a neighborhood about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from Guthrie’s house late Friday night, and sheriff’s and FBI vehicles—including forensics vehicles—were waved through the roadblock, the sheriff’s department said. The activity was described as part of the investigation, and officials continued to rely on the tip intake to feed that investigative work.
Tucson-area residents and supporters continued public efforts as authorities asked for information tied to the case’s earliest visible clues. The FBI said a porch camera recorded video of a person with a backpack wearing a ski mask, long pants, a jacket and gloves, and the agency released that imagery along with a public plea for help. According to the FBI, the person shown in the video was about 5 feet, 9 inches tall with a medium build and wore a backpack described by the agency as a specific brand and model.
Officials said the neighborhood also surfaced other potentially relevant observations. Resident Laura Gargano told The Associated Press that she urged investigators to check an underground tank at Guthrie’s home, which she said was checked last weekend, and she also said she told authorities about a rental house—“not typical for the neighborhood”—that had recently been vacated. Gargano said she noticed that cars were gone from the property and said, “It could have been nothing, it could have been coincidental, but it was a change.”
The sheriff’s department has not said whether any tips from the released videos advanced the investigation. Villaseñor said he remains hopeful, adding that in other cases “simpler and less detailed information has helped bring somebody about,” and that someone might recognize “clothing” or a “bag” from what was shown in the footage.
Anyone with information: (800) 225-5324; (520) 351-4900; http://tips.fbi.gov