Chilling images are the biggest break so far in the Nancy Guthrie case. Here’s what stands out to law enforcement experts
Amy O’Kruk, CNN
Video and images showing an armed, masked individual outside the Tucson, Arizona, home of Nancy Guthrie have given new life to the search for the 84-year-old – and may offer investigators important clues about the subject’s identity.
The imagery released by the FBI on Tuesday is the biggest break so far in the case of the missing mother of “Today” show anchor Savannah Guthrie. They were captured by Guthrie’s Nest-made doorbell camera and recovered thanks to technical expertise provided by Google, a person familiar with the investigation told CNN’s Brian Stelter.
Investigators’ goal in sharing the imagery, experts say, is to engage the public in hopes someone will recognize the individual and provide a crucial tip that could solve the mystery of the suspected abduction of Guthrie in the early morning hours of February 1.
On Thursday, the FBI called the person in the video a “suspect in the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie,” and said he is approximately 5’9” or 5’10” tall.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said it received more than 4,000 tips in the 24 hours since the surveillance photos and videos were released to the public.
Meanwhile, the department has asked Guthrie’s neighbors to submit any video footage that includes cars, traffic, people or pedestrians, and anything they feel may be out of the ordinary or important for law enforcement to review as they investigate Guthrie’s disappearance.
Here’s what stands out to law enforcement experts about the footage and images of the armed, masked individual:
The holster
The subject seen in the images is armed, carrying what appears to be a pistol in a holster at the waist. But some experts said the holster and its placement at the individual’s groin area suggest this person lacks proficiency with firearms.
“In my opinion, this is not someone, first of all, who was ever trained to carry a gun,” said CNN Senior Law Enforcement Analyst Andrew McCabe, former deputy director of the FBI.
“No person with law enforcement or military training would ever carry a firearm in a holster like that, right where that is at almost the center of his body, hanging off of his belt there,” he said. “It’s not very tactically sound for a lot of reasons.”
Steve Moore, a retired FBI supervisory special agent, similarly said the holster and gun did not appear to be appropriately paired.
“It’s kind of ridiculous,” Moore said. “He’s got a small, semiautomatic pistol meant for concealment that he could have put in his pocket, but instead he’s holstering it in a holster made for a large-frame revolver. They don’t even match.”
The clothing
The images also show the individual covered head to toe, wearing a mask, gloves, a jacket and long pants in addition to the holster and backpack.
CNN senior correspondent Josh Campbell, a former FBI agent, said the individual’s garb “could have been a purposeful attempt to try to prevent leaving behind any DNA at the scene, from skin or hair fibers, as well as fingerprints.”
Each of the subject’s items will be scrutinized, Campbell said, in hopes of determining its brand and thus where the item might be sold.
“In past cases,” he said, “authorities have canvassed places like clothing and hardware stores in order to determine if employees may have recognized a possible subject (from) when the items were purchased.”
The backpack appears to be an Ozark Trail Hiker Pack, part of Walmart’s private-label outdoor brand, according to a CNN analysis.
Investigators recovered a black glove about a mile and a half from Guthrie’s home, according to the New York Post. The sheriff’s department said Thursday investigators had found “several items of evidence, including gloves.”
It is not clear whether authorities believe they are the same gloves worn by the person in the doorbell camera footage.
If it is the same glove, though, investigators will try to recover DNA, fiber, hair and traces of a plant that was used to cover up the camera, CNN’s chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller said.
The gait
The video specifically offers a key insight that the still images can’t: How the individual moves.
The footage shows the subject walking around outside as they approach Guthrie’s home and try to obstruct the camera. While the movement may not be an obvious cue to strangers, experts say it could be recognizable to someone who knows the person.
“We recognize people more by the way that they move than by visual cues, often,” said Josh Schirard, a former SWAT commander. “Understanding how they’re moving, seeing them walk back and forth, is definitely a great way to recognize someone that you might know,” even when other distinctive features may be obscured.
Other experts said the subject’s movement could illustrate a lack of urgency. McCabe said the individual’s approach was “not particularly furtive or concerned.”
Bryanna Fox, a former FBI agent, similarly said the individual “almost saunters up like that’s his house.”
There is “a lack of concern that he’s going to be caught,” she said.
“He still has this kind of air of bravado, that he’s going to be able to get away with this.”
Attempts to obstruct the camera
The video released by the FBI is brief and doesn’t show much in the way of action. But it does capture the subject’s apparent attempts to cover the camera outside Guthrie’s home.
The person appears to first try obstructing the lens with their gloved hand. Then, the individual steps back, seemingly searching the ground. The person ultimately picks up a piece of shrubbery from the yard, then uses the foliage to try to cover the camera.
“This does raise questions about his sophistication and any pre-planning,” said Campbell, the CNN correspondent. “If he had actually conducted surveillance on the home and saw a camera, he would have brought with him means of obstructing it.”
Asked about the attempt to cover the camera with shrubbery, Moore said it suggested the purported abduction of Nancy Guthrie was “highly premeditated and very poorly planned,” adding he believes “this is the first time he’s ever done something like this.”
“What this strikes me as is somebody who doesn’t know what he doesn’t know,” Moore said.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Alisha Ebrahimji, Sara Smart, Ed Lavandera and Eric Levenson and Jeff Winter contributed to this report.
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Vehicles at center of Nancy Guthrie investigation probed as police canvas for truck, Ring footage
TUCSON, Ariz.— As investigators continue to piece together the timeline surrounding Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance, attention has increasingly focused on a handful of vehicles connected to the home — and a possible truck that detectives appear eager to identify.
Authorities have requested Ring doorbell footage from neighbors for two specific windows of time: Jan. 11 between 9 p.m. and midnight, and Jan. 31 between 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m., according to Kvoa. The Jan. 11 time frame is more than three weeks before 84-year-old Guthrie was reported missing.
Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her Tucson, Arizona, home on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026.
(Fox News)
In recent days, detectives have canvassed nearby homes in Tucson, Arizona’s foothills, asking residents for surveillance video and inquiring about the types of vehicles they own.
“Detectives have come twice and asked us for our names and who we are and so on and what kind of cars we drive, and if we have a truck,” neighbor David Romano told NBC News correspondent Liz Kreutz for TODAY on Feb. 12.
Several vehicles have been identified as being associated with the home:
Nancy Guthrie was believed to drive a Subaru, possibly a Forester. The vehicle was towed from her garage.
Tommaso and Annie Cioni have been seen driving a blue Honda CRV, according to neighbors.
Camron Guthrie was seen driving a white Toyota Camry last week. It has not been publicly confirmed whether the Camry is registered to him.
Neighbors also mentioned a possible gray truck in the area, though no make, model or license plate information has been provided.
The repeated questions about truck ownership have raised questions about whether investigators are attempting to identify a specific vehicle seen on surveillance footage.
At this point, no confirmed truck has been publicly linked to the individuals at the center of the investigation. It is unclear whether the gray truck mentioned by neighbors is connected to the case or simply a vehicle observed in the neighborhood.
Law enforcement was seen canvassing around Annie Guthrie’s neighborhood on Thursday, Feb. 5.
Authorities have not publicly commented on whether a truck is considered a vehicle of interest. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Pima County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI for additional information.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI say they have received nearly 18,000 tip calls since Guthrie disappeared. The sheriff’s department received 4,000 calls on Wednesday alone.
The FBI is urging anyone with information related to Guthrie’s disappearance to contact 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Andy Cohen Says Savannah Guthrie’s “Today” Colleagues Are ‘Somber and Sad’ amid Her Mom’s Disappearance (Exclusive)
The ‘Today’ anchor’s mother Nancy was abducted from her home early on Feb. 1, according to authorities
Andy Cohen (left) and Savannah and Nancy Guthrie (right).Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty; savannahguthrie/Instagram
Savannah Guthrie’s Today show colleagues are feeling the anchor’s pain as 84-year-old mother Nancy remains missing.
Speaking with PEOPLE on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at a performance of Broadway’s & Julie starring Real Housewives alum Kandi Burruss, Cohen, 57 — who has guest-hosted and been interviewed on Today several times — reflected on his visit to the show the week prior, just three days after Nancy was reported missing from her Arizona home.
“I was on last week promoting my Super Bowl commercial and they were all so somber and sad,” said Cohen, who appeared in an ad for Nerds candy. He added that the group, including Craig Melvin, Jenna Bush Hager, Sheinelle Jones and Al Roker, “really are” like a family.
“I know my way around a morning show and it’s not really like that at a lot of morning shows,” said Cohen, referencing his time as a senior producer for CBS This Morning. “They are very close knit.”
Nancy and Savannah Guthrie in 2019.Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
Cohen called Nancy’s disappearance “surreal,” adding, “It feels like a movie. I think there’s two reasons that it resonates so much. First of all, everybody loves Savannah Guthrie and second of all, we all are putting ourselves in her shoes. Everyone has a loved one you can picture being taken. It’s just terrible.”
Nancy was reported missing from her Tucson home on Sunday, Feb. 1 after she failed to meet up with friends that morning to watch a livestream of a church service. Authorities believe she was abducted sometime overnight after she returned home from visiting her daughter Annie and Annie’s husband Tommaso Cioni, who live nearby.
Savannah Guthrie, Andy Cohen and Hoda Kotb in 2022.Todd Williamson/Bravo via Getty
News outlets including TMZ reported that they have received ransom notes from alleged kidnappers, demanding $4 million in bitcoin by 5 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 5, and then $6 million in bitcoin by 5 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 9.
On Tuesday, Feb. 10, the FBI released Nest doorbell camera footage of a masked and armed figure at Nancy’s home. The person was seen attempting to cover the camera with plants taken from her yard.
Savannah, 54, along with siblings Annie and Camron, have made pleas on social media asking for the safe return of their mother.
Craig Melvin and Hoda Kotb in 2018.Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
The journalist, who traveled to Arizona to be with her family amid the news of her mom’s disappearance, has not appeared on Today since. Her former co-anchor Hoda Kotb, who left the show in 2025, has stepped in at the anchor alongside Melvin.
On Wednesday, Feb. 11, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department told PEOPLE that investigators “are still operating [on the belief] that Nancy is still alive.”
The FBI is urging anyone with tips or leads to call 1-800-CALL-FBI in addition to the Pima County Sheriff’s Office number, 520-351-4900.
