As investigators work to track down 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, the internet has launched its own investigation. Nancy Guthrie, the mother of US TV presenter Savannah Guthrie, remains missing despite major developments in the case this week. Late Tuesday, authorities detained the person for questioning and executed a search warrant at a home in Rio Rico, Arizona — about 100 kilometers south of Tucson, near the U.S.-Mexico border.
Even as law enforcement continues their work, online users are trying to decode the grainy surveillance footage and piece together theories — often based on incomplete or unverified information.
Internet detectives analyze the footage
Earlier, the FBI released video from a doorbell outside Nancy Guthrie’s home taken the night she disappeared. Footage showed a masked, armed individual near her front door. According to CNN, engineers helped Google, which owns Nest, recover the data after several days.
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After the release, social media users began enhancing the still images and spreading their own interpretations.
“We improved some AI image as the FBI is having a good time releasing images. Nancy Guthrie’s Nest Cam captured grainy night vision footage, I tried to do some coloring and enhancement, you can see his eye shape has a unique difference, facial hair too,” wrote one user on X.
Another added: “There are more people looking at teammates and unless there are edits of ski mask views, we are very close to a family or genetic match OR IT’S NOT. With so many desperate needs for help, it could be mistaken identity. I’m an amateur.”
Other posts speculated about possible suspects and movements at the scene. “There are unconfirmed reports that the POI detained in connection with Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance has been detained in Rio Rico south of Tucson,” one user wrote.
“You can clearly see the goatee and mustache here…also gives a good shot of the face shape etc..Nancy Guthrie Kidnapper,” claimed another.
Some posts also linked the reported helicopter landing in Rio Rico to the case: “One person is reportedly in custody. A medical helicopter landed in Rio Rico near the interrogation site and is now on its way back to Tucson. Her current condition remains unconfirmed. We are now seeking official verification,” the user wrote.
Others focused on the scene itself. “I don’t know houses in Arizona, but does Nancy Guthrie’s roof look freshly painted? Just wondering about the workers who may have been working on the roof in the last few months, especially considering the camera they found up there. Just saying,” another post read.
What the authorities have confirmed
According to CNN, law enforcement officers arrested the person during a traffic stop about an hour south of Tucson. The person was taken in for questioning based on investigative leads but not charged. Officials have not confirmed whether the person detained is the same person seen in the FBI footage.
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FBI Director Kash Patel went on to say that the agency is vetting “persons of interest” and moving through the process of elimination.
Authorities are also executing a search warrant at a home in Rio Rico, where the road was closed during the operation. A woman at the scene told CNN that her home had been searched and that investigators were looking for her son-in-law, who she said “had nothing to do with (the case). Officials in the area are also searching the vehicle.”
Despite these developments, a law enforcement source told CNN that Nancy Guthrie has yet to be found.
Deputies also canvassed the area for Annie Guthrie, one of Nancy’s daughters. Nancy was reportedly at her daughter’s home for dinner the night before she was reported missing.