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In a significant development surrounding the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, a forensic expert has suggested that the case might be linked to an extortion scheme.
On the 31st day of the ongoing search, there was notable activity at Guthrie’s residence. Three individuals were observed examining the front door, raising further questions about the investigation.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, speaking to NBC News, expressed confidence that investigators are “definitely closer” to identifying one or more suspects. However, he acknowledged that there are still critical elements of the case that remain unclear.
Among these is the mystery of a vehicle captured on a Ring camera approximately two-and-a-half miles from Guthrie’s home at around 2 a.m. on the night she vanished. Sheriff Nanos noted that this vehicle is part of a larger investigation into the “hundreds of thousands of vehicles” on the road at that time.
Additionally, investigators have yet to determine the identity of a masked individual seen via a doorbell camera outside Guthrie’s home. Complicating matters further, the backpack worn by this individual, which was initially believed to be a Walmart-exclusive item, may have been obtained through online resale channels.
That includes a car caught on a Ring camera video about two-and-a-half miles from Guthrie’s home around 2 a.m. on the night she disappeared. Nanos says they are looking into it, just like “Hundreds of thousands of vehicles” that were out driving at that time.
Nanos also said they have not yet identified the clothes worn by the masked man seen on the doorbell video outside Guthrie’s home. In addition, they are now learning the backpack he was wearing — while sold exclusively at Walmart — may not have been purchased there at all, but possibly resold online.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department has been consistent in its belief Guthrie was taken from her home against her will.
Guthrie was reported missing Feb. 1, and authorities believe the 84-year-old woman was abducted from her home in the late night or early morning hours. Although there have been multiple ransom notes, Guthrie has still not been found.
“‘I’ve had people that have taken advantage of the elderly because they knew that they had money, and they bum rush them into their house and they snatch them out of there, or they do terrible things like murder inside of the house,” forensic analyst Joseph Scott Morgan told .
“She is a much more valuable target to them if they had foreknowledge of whose mother she was … and so if they think that they can get anything out of her, I think that that comes to local knowledge.
“(Perhaps a) grandson that might be in the neighborhood that has some knowledge that’s been talking about this for a protracted period of time. I wonder if it’s gang-related. I wonder what they’re pressing relative to the gang associations in Pima County, because this smacks of this, relative to targeting her.”