In just the past 24 hours, major developments have unfolded in the high-profile disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie.
One person was taken in for questioning but later released — and most notably, the surveillance footage from Guthrie’s home has sparked intense public reaction.
Now, a former FBI agent suggests that the suspected kidnapper may have made a major blunder.
Raised red flags
The desperate search for “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie’s 84-year-old mother has entered its eleventh day, and newly released FBI images and video offer the first chilling glimpse of the suspect.
The footage, released by FBI and pulled from a Nest security camera outside Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson home, shows a masked figure in light-colored clothing approaching the house at night.
In one frame, the person appears to be carrying a firearm in a way that immediately raised red flags for former FBI agent Mark Harrigan.
“That is a very non-conventional way to carry a firearm. Very non-conventional,” Harrigan told The New York Post, pointing to what appears to be the weapon positioned at the front of the suspect’s body.
“He has it in the open, which is unusual, because normally you would want it concealed when you’re going to do a crime, so you’re not calling attention to yourself with an exposed firearm,” he said.
According to Harrigan, who previously led the FBI’s Firearms Training Program, that detail could suggest inexperience.
A “rookie”
“That’s potentially somebody that’s not normally armed or carrying a firearm around in public. Normally, you’d have it on the hip,” he explained.
“You don’t carry it on your hip bone because it’s uncomfortable. He may have had it concealed in his backpack and decided then to put it on his waist when he got close to the door,” he added.
Harrigan’s view is shared by longtime private investigator Andy Kay, who labeled the suspected kidnapper a “rookie” due to the way their weapon appeared awkwardly holstered.
The suspect’s actions near the camera drew attention, with one specific detail standing out: the masked figure seems to grab nearby vegetation in an effort to obscure the lens.
“He balls his fist up, and then you see him walk back out of the vestibule there. It appears he’s looking for something to conceal the camera. He reaches down and picks up some vegetation in an attempt to cover the camera,” Harrigan explained.
“A sophisticated person would have brought something from the very beginning. Either a hammer or something to remove the camera, or spray paint,” he added.
The video’s release came 10 days after Nancy vanished — a delay authorities say was caused in part because her physical security camera had been removed and she did not subscribe to Google Home’s paid cloud storage service.
That meant the footage wasn’t automatically preserved.
Former prosecutor and current defense attorney John W. Day said the recovery effort itself reveals just how far investigators had to go.
“It gives us some insight to what Google is capable of,” Day told The New York Post.
The $50,000 reward
FBI Director Kash Patel said the footage was “recovered from residual data located in backend systems,” suggesting it had to be reconstructed from damaged or deleted files. The FBI continues to offer a $50,000 reward for any information about Nancy Guthrie or her alleged captor.
Nancy’s daughter, Savannah, shared the chilling photos and videos on Instagram soon after the new footage was made public.
“Someone out there recognizes this person. We believe she is still out there. Bring her home,” the 54-year-old “Today” show host pleaded, adding, “We believe she is still alive.”
Yesterday, FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that the agency is currently examining multiple persons of interest in the search for Nancy Guthrie.
Detained one man
“Without polluting the investigation, I will say we have made substantial progress in these last 36-48 hours, thanks to the technical capabilities of the FBI and our partnerships, and I do believe we are looking at people who, as we say, are persons of interest, but as you know with any investigation, you’re a person of interest until you’re either eliminated, or you’re actually found to be the culprit or the culprits involved, and that’s the stage we’re at right now,” Patel said.
Early Wednesday, a man who had been detained in connection with Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance was released without charges. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department had announced Tuesday that deputies stopped a vehicle south of Tucson and questioned the individual as part of the Guthrie investigation. Authorities have not officially named any suspect or person of interest.
Carlos Palazuelos told Fox News that he was the person stopped and questioned, but insisted he had nothing to do with the case. “I make deliveries in the Tucson area,” he said, explaining that investigators asked about his recent whereabouts. He added that authorities had shown his in-law a photo of someone wearing a mask and “they supposedly looked like my eyes.”
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