A man was arrested on suspicion of DUI (Driving Under the Influence) in front of Savannah Guthrie’s mother, co-host of The Savannah Guthrie Show, Nancy Guthrie, at her home late Thursday (local time) after he was allegedly seen driving by the residence 50 to 100 times while looking at a photo of the missing grandmother on his phone, the Nation reported.
According to NewsNation correspondent Brian Entin, members of the media noticed the driver acting strangely as he drove slowly past Guthrie’s home in Tucson in a blue vehicle, repeatedly stopping to look at the memorial erected outside.
Entin said the unidentified man had a picture of the missing 84-year-old woman on his phone as he crept up to the house.
Watch the video here:
No parking around mother Nancy Guthrie’s house
The no-parking zone around Nancy Guthrie’s home is being expanded after neighbors expressed frustration with traffic jams, trespassing and littering in the weeks following her disappearance, the AP reported.
Officials in Pima County said a weekend attempt to make a road in front of a Catalina Foothills home didn’t ease the situation as intended and prompted wider parking restrictions.
The updated rules, which take effect Thursday, will still allow journalists and social media streamers access to the area, but they must park elsewhere and be dropped off.
Violators face a $250 fine.
The continued presence of news crews, bloggers and spectators has divided residents. While some welcome the increased attention to the case, others have put up cones and signs in an attempt to keep people off their property.
Nancy Guthrie’s neighbors say “no one wants…”
Holly Vatter, who lives on the street that intersects the street where Nancy Guthrie’s home is located, said the once-quiet neighborhood has turned into what appears to be a parking lot, according to the AP.
She noticed that where only a few cars would pass through her road each day, vehicles were now constantly passing or parked along her street.
She’s learned to keep the blinds down, avoids opening the screen door in the morning and afternoon so she doesn’t hear the TV news, and doesn’t want to sit in her backyard because of drones flying overhead. She said it was stressful to fight through traffic to get to and from surgery, from which she is now recovering, and that she cut appointments with clients who had planned to come to her home, the AP reported.
“Nobody wants to go through a media circus to get to a meeting,” Vatter said.
We still believe in a miracle.
Vatter Street will be affected by the parking restrictions and she hopes it will offer some relief from the “chaotic” environment.
Earlier on February 24, Savannah Guthrie shared a video announcing a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to the recovery of her mother, Nancy Guthrie. With what she described as 24 days of anguish, she asked for more prayers and said the family still believed “in a miracle”.
Key things
- The constant media attention can significantly disrupt local communities and affect the daily lives of residents.
- Public involvement and awareness can be a double-edged sword with both positive and negative consequences in missing persons cases.
- New regulations may be necessary to manage the impact of media coverage and public interest on neighborhoods.
