The mysterious masked figure who was seen trying to obscure Nancy Guthrie’s Nest doorbell camera on the night of her abduction had apparently visited the house before.
Federal investigators released eerie footage of the unidentified suspect standing at Guthrie’s front door in the upscale Catalina Foothills neighborhood of Tucson, Arizona in the early morning hours on February 1.
Police have yet to arrest any suspects or produce any concrete leads into the disappearance of the 84-year-old mother of Today Show host Savannah Guthrie.
But an image that the FBI released of the suspect at her front door without a backpack had been captured on her Nest doorbell camera before her abduction, sources familiar with the investigation told ABC News.
The images of him carrying a backpack and with a gun holster were then taken on a different day, CNN reports.
It is now believed that the suspect approached the door the first time noticed the camera and was scared off, only to return later, when he was seen tampering with the device and putting branches in front of the lens.
If it is the same person, ‘it could indicate that the person was there surveilling the place before the abduction happened,’ Jason Peck, a former FBI agent, told ABC.
‘The fact that there was preparation and planning, which makes it more of a sophisticated type of criminal activity than someone just showing up.’
The timeline gap may help explain why investigators have asked neighbors to check their home security systems for suspicious people and vehicles going back to January 1, a full month before the abduction.
Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Today Show host Savannah Guthrie, was taken from her home in the early morning hours of February 1
A masked suspect spotted outside Nancy Guthrie’s home in Tucson, Arizona apparently visited the house prior to her abduction
The unidentified suspect was later seen trying to obscure the Nest doorbell camera
The major development comes just days after a couple said they found a bloody black latex glove, like the one the masked suspect wore in the doorbell camera footage.
The couple said they made the discovery on February 11 while driving down North Campbell Avenue and pointing a flashlight out the window. Another glove was found less than 10 feet away.
The couple told KVOA-TV they then called the FBI hotline and were on hold for 45 minutes before getting through to someone.
The operator took down their contact information and their location but could not guarantee that an agent would be able to get there that night, they said.
Knowing the possible significance of these gloves, they then called the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, which has led the investigation into Guthrie’s disappearance.
Police told the couple to leave the gloves in place and that someone would respond to the scene.
The couple was worried about rain in the forecast, so they called 911 for a faster response. Multiple detectives arrived and questioned them until 2am.
They are now wondering if the gloves they found are the same ones that the FBI had tested, which officials said did not match anyone in the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).
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The glove the couple found is seen through the camera of a phone
This glove, the couple said, was found less than a mile from Nancy’s home (pictured)
Police have not confirmed this, but the gloves they said they discovered were collected two miles away from Nancy’s home. The couple said the gloves they found were less than a mile away from the home.
Authorities will now continue DNA testing on the gloves over the next few weeks, believing it may belong to the suspect, who has been described as a 5’9” to 5’10” male.
He was seen with a distinct gun holster and an Ozark Trail backpack from Walmart.
But as the investigation drags on, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has been accused of ‘locking down’ the investigation from federal authorities.
Several sources told the Daily Mail that the sheriff is now insisting that only he and two of his highest-ranking inner circle will make decisions regarding the case of the missing 84-year-old.
Several PCSD sources also confirmed to the Daily Mail that just three decision makers are leading the department’s investigation: Sheriff Nanos, Chief Jesus Lopez and Captain Juan Carlos Navarro.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has restricted key decisions in the Nancy Guthrie case to himself and two top deputies, sidelining veteran detectives and the FBI
Chief Jesus Lopez (right) and Captain Juan Carlos Navarro, part of Sheriff Nanos’ inner circle, are among just three decision-makers running the department’s investigation, PCSD sources confirmed to the Daily Mail
‘He will only let himself or two of his handpicked staffers make decisions on the case,’ one law enforcement source told the Daily Mail.
‘Everybody else is being told what to do, no one else has a say so or an opinion. It’s just three men making the decisions.
Sgt. David Stivers is officially in charge of the case, but sources say any information he receives is passed straight up the chain
‘It’s incredibly unusual to do that, when you have so many people working together and the FBI are involved.
‘All the other detectives are out there busting their butts and doing all they can, but those three people are making the ultimate decisions after everyone reports back to them.
‘It’s limited to the thought processes of three men. They’re keeping everything from the FBI – they just aren’t sharing.
‘Nanos is pompous and wants the spotlight, rather than focusing on Nancy and letting the FBI do their job.’
Law enforcement sources also added that Sgt David Stivers is officially in charge of the case, but any information given to him is passed straight up the chain.
Another source added: ‘So no actual detectives are steering this, just command staff. This is highly unusual. Normally an experienced detective would steer it and provide updates through the chain of command.
‘To be fair, it’s typical to keep key details under tight wraps as we saw in the Idaho case. What is unusual is command driving the investigation. It’s the tail wagging the dog.’
Yet volunteers who were keen to join the search have been told they are not welcome.
‘We appreciate their concern, and we all want to find Nancy, but this work is best left to professionals,’ the sheriff said in a statement on social media.
‘PCSD has volunteer opportunities if they wish to get involved with the department.’
The statement also urged volunteers to keep private property laws in mind and ask permission before searching a resident’s property.
A Tucson couple said they found a bloody glove near Nancy Guthrie’s home in the Catalina Foothills. (Pictured: Nancy with her daughter Savannah Guthrie on the set of the ‘Today’ show)
Nancy was last seen on January 31 after being dropped off by a family member at her home.
Police believe she was taken against her will during the early hours of February 1. After she failed to show up at a friend’s home that day, her family reported her missing.
On Friday, the sheriff’s department said they are ‘not ruling out the possibility that more than one person may be involved’.
Investigators are hoping Nancy’s pacemaker will eventually lead them to her.
The device, which regulates one’s heartbeat, was disconnected from an app on her phone at 2:28am. This was shortly after the suspect was seen on her doorbell camera.
Nanos previously said that the pacemaker still has six or seven years of battery life based on information he was provided by the manufacturer.
The company that made the pacemaker has been working with police to help detect any possible signals the device could be emitting.
