Federal prosecutors visited Nancy Guthrie’s home to assist FBI with ‘routine legal process’
‘Today’ show Savannah Guthrie host says it’s been ‘agony’ during 24 days since Nancy Guthrie was taken from her bed
TUCSON, Ariz. – Federal prosecutors visited Nancy Guthrie’s property Wednesday to assist the FBI with a “routine legal process,” the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona confirmed to Fox News Digital.
The federal agents were at the home for several hours Wednesday afternoon. Several cars were seen going in and out of the driveway through out the course of the afternoon.
Fox Flight Team drone video showed the agents walking in and out of the house as well as around the backyard.
The development comes as a retired FBI agent says the Guthrie family’s new $1 million reward offer puts “psychological pressure” on any potential accomplices to come forward with information.
In an Instagram video on Tuesday morning, Savannah Guthrie announced a family reward of up to $1 million for the recovery of Nancy Guthrie, her mother. The family is also making a $500,000 donation to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, she said.
“I’m coming on to say it is day 24 since our mom was taken in the dark of night from her bed. And every hour and minute and second and every long night has been agony since then,” Guthrie said. “We still believe, we still believe in a miracle. We still believe that she can come home. Hope begets hope. As my sister says, we are blowing on the embers of hope.”
Savannah Guthrie acknowledged in the Tuesday video that her mother may no longer be alive.
“We also know she may be lost,” Savannah Guthrie said. “She may already be gone. She may have already gone home to the Lord that she lives, and is dancing in heaven, with her mom and her dad and with her beloved brother Pierce — and with our daddy.”
Sources with knowledge of the family’s thinking told Fox News Digital that the Guthries initially brought up the idea of an increased reward funded by the family, but were advised by law enforcement to hold off as “doing so earlier might overwhelm the infrastructure set up to field leads, tens of thousands of which have been coming in organically.”
Retired FBI Agent Jason Pack told Fox News Digital the new reward by the Guthries has the potential to make a massive impact on the investigation.
“It applies psychological pressure on any accomplices. Ransom schemes involving multiple people are inherently unstable. The more time passes, the more the financial disparity between holding out and collecting $1 million starts eating at the weakest link,” he said. “The message is: your partners are not going to protect you. We will. It preserves moral offramps.”
Pack added that the increased reward could pit suspects’ family inner circle against each other, potentially leading to a break in the case.
“The $1 million announcement is also a direct market disruption. The FBI has a $100,000 reward. 88-Crime is at $102,500. By introducing a private family reward at $1 million, the Guthries just changed the calculus for anyone sitting on information: a driver who saw something, an accomplice having second thoughts, a family member of the suspect weighing loyalty against a million dollars. That is a number that can fracture criminal conspiracies,” Pack said.
“A million-dollar announcement generates a new news cycle and sends people back to their phones scrolling through memories of anything unusual they saw in the Catalina Foothills in January,” he added.
FBI agents on Wednesday were seen walking onto Nancy Guthrie’s property, one day after the increased reward. According to NBC News, the federal agency saw a surge of tips after Savannah Guthrie announced the $1 million reward, with over 750 tips coming in since Tuesday.
Investigators haven’t yet publicly identified a person of interest or suspect in Nancy Guthrie’s abduction. Since releasing doorbell video of a masked individual at Nancy Guthrie’s door before she was believed to have been taken, investigators have been trying to identify clothing that the person was wearing, as well as other items.
Sources told Fox News Digital that one of the Nest doorbell cameras released by the FBI was taken on a different day than the others.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos pushed back, saying reporting on the dates of the images are “speculation.”
Nancy Guthrie missing case probe hits dead end? FBI conducts one more search at her home as no suspects identified
FBI agents reportedly searched Savannah Guthrie’s mother Nancy’s Tucson home for over two hours, seeking evidence. Nancy was last seen on January 31, and her family reported her missing the following day.
The Federal Bureau Of Investigation (FBI) agents arrived at US TV anchor Savannah Guthrie’s mother Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson home on Wednesday morning and remained there for over two hours at the million-dollar property, performing an additional search for evidence before determining if her family can go back home, according to The New York Post citing sources.
Investigators were likely searching for any remaining evidence that might have been missed before allowing the Guthrie family to return to the home, sources informed The Post.
Nancy was last seen on January 31 after her family dropped her off at her Tucson-area home following a meal together. She was reported missing by relatives the next day. However, the suspects still not have been identified.
Sources told ABC News last week that the investigation was gradually transitioning to a smaller, long-term task force approach after authorities’ main leads failed to produce results. However, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department told The Post separately that between 300 and 400 personnel remain designated to the case and that staffing levels have not changed since the probe began.
‘She may already be gone’
Meanwhile, Savannah Guthrie said her family was offering a $1 million reward for information leading to the recovery of her mother, Nancy Guthrie, who went missing from her Arizona home. Savannah mentioned on Tuesday that her family was still holding out for a miracle and hopes her mother will be found alive, but she also acknowledged that they realise it might be too late.
In an Instagram post, Savannah stated, “She may already be gone. She may already have gone home to the Lord that she loves and is dancing in heaven.”
Porch camera footage released two weeks ago showing a man wearing gloves and carrying a backpack outside Nancy Guthrie’s home provided investigators with their first significant lead, but it has also sparked widespread speculation.
On Monday, the sheriff’s department said it is aware of inconsistencies in the images released of the masked individual, particularly regarding whether the person was shown with or 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 department mentioned, as per AP.
Sheriff Chris Nanos made it clear last week that members of Guthrie’s family, including her siblings and their spouses, are not considered suspects.
Although the sheriff urged the public not to conduct independent searches, volunteers have continued their efforts. A small group said they discovered a black backpack on Sunday, but it did not match the brand seen in FBI-released surveillance footage showing a masked individual at Guthrie’s home on the night she vanished.
Reporters and livestreamers haven’t been the only ones visiting the neighborhood. Supporters of the Guthrie family have gathered outside the house, leaving flowers, yellow ribbons, crosses, and written prayers.