Authorities have said that a backpack that was recovered near the Arizona home of Nancy Guthrie is unlikely to have any connection to the 84-year-old’s disappearance.
Volunteers who are helping in the search for the missing grandmother found a backpack near her Arizona home on Sunday—as the hunt for “Today” host Savannah Guthrie‘s mother extended into its fourth week, with no suspects yet identified in the case.
Nancy has been missing from her Tucson-area property since the early hours of Feb. 1, when a masked and armed intruder was caught on her doorbell security camera approaching the front door of the home.
Hundreds of FBI agents have joined the search for the mother of three, while volunteers have been helping to comb the local area around her house in a bid to uncover evidence that might lead to her location or the identity of her captors.
On Feb. 22, a group of those volunteers came across a backpack that was handed over to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, according to USA Today.
A spokesperson for the department later stated that it was not thought the backpack was in any way related to Nancy’s abductors, telling The Arizona Republic: “The backpack that was located by volunteers yesterday was collected by a deputy and examined at a nearby substation.
“After reviewing the bag and its contents, it does not appear that this is a viable lead for the investigation. The bag appears to have been outside for much longer than three weeks. It also contained identification of a minor within it.”
While it is not thought that the uncovered backpack has any connection to those responsible for Nancy’s disappearance, the intruder who was captured on her doorbell camera was seen wearing a backpack when they approached the property.
Anyone with any information about Nancy Guthrie’s case should call 1-800-CALL-FBI, 520-351-4900, 88-CRIME, or visit https://tips.fbi.gov/.
That backpack has since been identified as a black, 25-liter ‘Ozark Trail Hiker Pack’ backpack. No details about the bag that was found by volunteers has yet been revealed.
It marks the first significant discovery since DNA was recovered from Nancy’s home—although that DNA has yet to lead to any major breakthroughs in the case, with Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos admitting that its analysis has run into some “challenges.”
“We listen to our lab, and our lab tells us that there’s challenges with it, and we understand those challenges,” he told NBC News.
“But our lab also knows that the technology is moving so fast and in such a frenzy that they think some of this stuff will resolve itself just in a matter of weeks, months or maybe a year, to allow them to do better with, say, a mixture of that kind of thing.”
Because it has not yet been separated out, the DNA has not been able to be submitted to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a database used by the FBI to track convicted criminals.
“We believe that we may have some DNA there that may be our suspect, but we won’t know that until that DNA is separated, sorted out, maybe admitted to CODIS, maybe through genetic genealogy,” Nanos added.
DNA that was previously collected from a glove found near Nancy’s home did not have any matches on the CODIS database. Officials have since confirmed that the DNA on the clothing item did not match what was found inside Nancy’s home, however they have not ruled out that multiple people may have been involved in the 84-year-old’s disappearance.
The FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department have issued multiple pleas for help in identifying the person in the video, with several identifying details revealed in the wake of the footage release.
In a post shared to the FBI Phoenix X account on Feb. 12, the agency highlighted several details about the person in the sinister footage, including their estimated height and their gender.
“New identifying details about the suspect in the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie have been confirmed after a forensic analysis of the doorbell camera footage by the FBI’s Operational Technology Division,” the post reads.
“The suspect is described as a male, approximately 5’9” – 5’10” tall, with an average build. In the video, he is wearing a black, 25-liter ‘Ozark Trail Hiker Pack’ backpack.”
On Feb. 19, law enforcement insisted there was no indication that Nancy has been taken over the U.S.-Mexico border, as they assured the public the case would not go cold as the search entered its 19th day.
Officials told NBC News that the Pima County sheriff and the FBI have been in touch with police on both sides of the border.
Although law enforcement is making officials in Mexico aware of the suspect’s description, there is no evidence to suggest that the 84-year-old has been taken over the border.
The reward money in the abduction case of Savannah’s mom has also been increased to $200,000 after an anonymous donor offered another $100,000 for information leading to her location.
88-Crime, a nonprofit and anonymous tip line that partners with police, revealed that they secured a $100,000 contribution from the donor—bringing the total from the Crime Stoppers organization to $102,500. The additional $100,000 reward is being offered by the FBI.
Sheriff Nanos noted that he remains positive about Guthrie’s case, noting that his mindset will change once the tips slow down.
“Because let’s face it, you’ve been around enough to know that when these tips dry up, this case goes cold. We believe somebody out there knows who did this. We need that person to call,” Nanos said, as per KGUN.
The Sheriff’s Department has revealed it has received thousands of tips, noting that they continue to pour in—while urging anyone with information to continue sending it through to the authorities. He noted that the tips are being categorized based on importance, describing the doorbell camera footage of the intruder as a “level one tip.”
“Here’s a level one tip—that video—the doorbell. That would be a great example of a level one tip, or maybe it’s this backpack has been identified as only purchased at Walmart. That’ll be pretty high,” he explained.
Authorities have asked all residents who live within a two-mile radius of Nancy’s $1 million home to pass over any available footage taken on two days leading up to her disappearance—including one date more than two weeks before she was taken from her Arizona property.
Investigators have asked told residents in the Catalina Foothills neighborhood to submit any and all surveillance footage taken by doorbell cameras between the hours of 9 p.m. and midnight on Jan. 11, as well as videos from 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Jan. 31, the morning before the 84-year-old disappeared.
Additionally, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department has asked that residents with any video footage taken between Jan. 1 and Feb. 2 that includes “vehicles, vehicle traffic, people/pedestrians, and anything neighbors deem out of the ordinary or important to our investigation” hand those videos over.
A webpage has been set up where neighbors can upload their video footage—while the sheriff’s department has revealed it will be using the Neighbors App to communicate updates to anyone living within a two-mile radius of Nancy’s home.
What is the full timeline of Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance?
Sheriff Nanos noted during a media briefing on Feb. 5 that, while times are approximate, his team has pieced together several pieces of evidence that indicate Nancy’s movements—and the timeline of her apparent abduction.
Nancy, 84, was reported missing at around 12 p.m. local time on Feb. 1, around 14 hours after she was dropped off at the property following a family dinner. When she failed to turn up at her usual church gathering on Sunday, her friends alerted her family, who found her home was empty.
SATURDAY, JAN. 31
5:32 p.m. Nancy travels to Annie’s house in an Uber for “dinner and playing games with the family.”
9:48 p.m. A garage door at Nancy’s house opens when she was dropped off at the property by her daughter.
9:50 p.m. The garage door closes, indicating that Nancy was inside the home.
SUNDAY, FEB. 1
1:47 a.m. Nancy’s doorbell security camera is disconnected.
2:12 a.m. Movement is detected on a security camera at the home. No footage of this is currently available.
2:28 a.m. Nancy’s pacemaker app indicates that the device has been disconnected from her phone.
11:00 a.m. Nancy fails to arrive at the home of a friend, where she had been due to watch a church service livestream.
11:56 a.m. Nancy’s family travels to her home to check on her and finds the property empty.
12:03 p.m. The family calls 911 to report Nancy missing.
12:14 p.m. Police officers arrive at Nancy’s home.