The masked suspect in the abduction of Nancy Guthrie may have been at her front door earlier than the date of her disappearance, according to multiple reports.
Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show star Savannah Guthrie, vanished from her home in the Catalina Foothills outside of Tucson, Arizona, in the early morning hours of February 1. Police believe the elderly woman was taken as she slept.
Authorities released photos of the suspect, who is yet to be publicly identified, earlier this month. The suspect was wearing a ski mask, gloves and, in most of the photos, a backpack.
The photos were taken from a doorbell camera at Nancy’s front door the morning of her disappearance, according to the FBI.
But ABC News reported Monday, citing sources familiar with the investigation, one of the images, which showed the suspect without a backpack, was taken on another day before the alleged abduction.
A CNN source later confirmed the suspected kidnapper was at her front door on a night other than the day Nancy disappeared.
It’s unclear which day the suspect may have come to the home before Nancy vanished.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement shared with The Independent Monday night, “We are aware that doorbell images released earlier in the investigation depict a suspect in different stages of attire, including with and without a backpack.
“There is no date or time stamp associated with these images. Therefore, any suggestion that the photographs were taken on different days is purely speculative.”
The Independent has reached out to the FBI for comment.
Authorities are still working to get evidence analyzed from Nancy’s home and at places where police conducted search warrants.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement shared with The Independent Saturday, “As with any biological evidence, there can be challenges separating DNA.”
In a snag to the case last week, the department said DNA from a pair of gloves found two miles away from Nancy’s home “did not trigger a match” in the FBI’s national database and “did not match DNA found at the property.”
A local couple told local outlet KVOA they found a black glove that appeared to have blood on it, less than a mile from Nancy’s affluent neighborhood, on February 11.
“Detectives and agents have collected multiple gloves from the area, and analysis is part of the investigation,” the sheriff’s department said in their Saturday statement.
It’s been more than three weeks since Nancy vanished. Authorities and the Guthrie family are desperate to find her.
The reward for valuable information in connection with Nancy’s disappearance has grown to more than $200,000 between the FBI and local officials.
Savannah and her family have even gone so far as to offer to pay for her safe return following reports of ransom notes that are yet to be verified by police.
Savannah has not posted on Instagram, where she usually shares updates about the case, in more than a week.
In her latest post shared on February 15, the TV journalist spoke directly to her mother’s suspected kidnapper: “I wanted to say to whoever has her, or knows where she is, that it’s never too late.”
“It is never too late to do the right thing,” she said.
Some volunteers have taken it upon themselves to search for Nancy in the desert near her home.
“Per the Sheriff, they were asked to please give investigators the space they need to do their work,” the department said in Saturday’s statement. “We appreciate their concern, and we all want to find Nancy, but this work is best left to professionals.”
