Share and Follow
Within just 24 hours, an Arizona sheriff’s department was inundated with over 4,000 calls following the release of surveillance footage showing a mysterious masked figure on Nancy Guthrie’s porch. While some of these tips may lead nowhere, others might prove valuable. Experts stress that none should be dismissed outright.
Tips, whether they solve major cases or minor ones, are crucial, and in this instance, the haunting images of a man shrouded from head to toe have become pivotal in the investigation of Guthrie’s disappearance, which took place nearly two weeks ago in the Tucson area.
“It’s an enormous undertaking,” remarked Roberto Villaseñor, a former Tucson police chief.
“In situations like this, the role of public tips and input is indispensable,” Villaseñor explained. “Although investigators have thoroughly processed the scene, progress is challenging without fresh information pouring in.”
Tens of thousands of tips
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department, in conjunction with the FBI, has set up dedicated phone lines and a website for tips related to the apparent kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of NBC’s “Today” co-anchor, Savannah Guthrie. According to the sheriff’s department, several hundred detectives and agents are actively working on the case.
The FBI said it has collected more than 13,000 tips since Feb. 1, the day Guthrie was reported missing. The sheriff’s department, meanwhile, said it has taken at least 18,000 calls.
“Every tip is reviewed for credibility, relevance, and information that can be acted upon by law enforcement,” the FBI said Thursday on X, adding that the effort is a 24-hour operation. It said it won’t comment on the tips received.
Meanwhile, many people stopped Friday at KVOA-TV in Tucson, an NBC affiliate, to sign a large outdoor banner with a photo of Nancy Guthrie and the message “Bring her home.”
“They’re like family, you know,” said Sandy Bryant, referring to her yearslong enjoyment of the “Today” show and the Guthrie family’s local ties. “It’s painful. It’s scary, very scary.”
Tips have made a difference many times
Major U.S. crimes for years have been cracked with a tip. In 1995, the brother and sister-in-law of Ted Kaczynski recognized certain tones in an anonymous, widely published anti-technology manifesto. Known by the FBI as the “Unabomber,” Kaczynski was found living in a shack in Montana and subsequently admitted to committing 16 bombings over 17 years, killing three people.
The 1989 murders of an Ohio woman and two teen daughters in Florida were solved three years later when St. Petersburg police asked the public if they recognized handwriting found in the victims’ car. A former neighbor led investigators to Oba Chandler.
Retired Detroit homicide investigator Ira Todd recalled how images from a gas station camera solved the disappearance and death of a 3-month-old baby — and stopped authorities from pursuing the wrong person in 2001. “A niece of this guy saw it on TV and says, ‘That’s my uncle,’” he said.
The murders of four University of Idaho students in 2022 generated nearly 40,000 tips to state and federal authorities. None had a direct role in the capture of Bryan Kohberger, but the public’s involvement nonetheless was “absolutely” important, said Lt. Darren Gilbertson of the Idaho State Police.
“That’s one of the things that kept us going for weeks,” he said, while authorities awaited DNA and other evidence.
Sorting the helpful from the odd
Gilbertson said much of the early vetting in the Idaho murders was done by the FBI. He said agents and analysts who were screening tips had a good grasp of what information could be spiked and what should be handed up to key investigators. Some tips arrived by regular mail.
“Aliens to bears to crazy conspiratorial ideas — don’t even pass that along,” Gilbertson said.
Nancy Guthrie was last seen Jan. 31 and was reported missing the following day. Hours before her family knew she was gone, a porch camera recorded video of a person with a backpack who was wearing a ski mask, long pants, jacket and gloves — images that were released by the FBI along with a public plea for help.
The FBI on Thursday said the person, now a suspect, is a man about 5 feet, 9 inches tall with a medium build. The agency also named the brand and model of the backpack.
Neighborhood resident Laura Gargano said she’s tried to be helpful. She recommended that authorities look at an underground tank at Guthrie’s home, which was checked last weekend. She also told them that a rental house, not typical for the neighborhood, had recently been vacated.
The sheriff’s department has not said whether any tips from the videos have advanced the investigation.
“I’m hopeful,” said Villaseñor, the former Tucson chief. “I have seen cases where simpler and less detailed information has helped bring somebody about. Maybe someone recognizes clothing, maybe the bag. You never know what someone will key on.”
___
Anyone with information: (800) 225-5324; (520) 351-4900;
___