Nancy Guthrie’s kidnapper may have deliberately ripped out her doorbell camera to see if police would show up, NBC’s top crime correspondent suggested Friday.
The 84-year-old grandmother, whose daughter is “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie, vanished from her $1 million Tucson, Arizona, home last weekend. Authorities believe she was taken against her will.
Data show Guthrie’s doorbell camera was disconnected at 1:47 a.m. Sunday, a moment NBC National Law Enforcement & Intelligence Correspondent Tom Winter called “critical” to the case.
Roughly 25 minutes later, at 2:12 a.m., software logged motion at the home. Police acknowledge the movement could have been caused by a person or an animal. Because Guthrie did not have an active subscription with the doorbell service, the company was unable to retrieve any video footage.
At 2:28 a.m., Guthrie’s pacemaker app disconnected from her phone. Winter said that timing suggests she was away from both her home and her phone sometime before then.
“What’s with that 20-minute time gap?” Winter asked on the “Today” show Friday morning. “The camera gets ripped off the doorbell, but then there’s motion seen on the camera outside, you know, 20 minutes later. What’s that about?”
Citing unnamed law enforcement sources, Winter said investigators are floating the possibility that Guthrie’s abductor “took the doorbell camera off and waited to see if police arrived.”
“And then perhaps thinking the coast was clear, goes back to the house. We don’t know,” he said. “We don’t know the specifics of what camera detected the motion either.”
Winter laid out the chilling theory on NBC’s flagship morning show, which Savannah Guthrie has co-hosted for more than a decade. The program opened with coverage of the disappearance Friday for the fifth straight day.
Savannah Guthrie has been off the air since her mother’s abduction and stepped away from NBC’s coverage of the Milan Winter Olympics, which begin Friday.
She and her siblings issued an emotional plea on social media Wednesday, saying they are ready to talk to whoever sent the ransom notes.
“We need to know without a doubt that she is alive and that you have her. We want to hear from you and we are ready to listen. Please reach out to us,” Savannah said through tears.
With her voice cracking, she addressed her mother directly, saying the family was praying for her and that people were searching everywhere. She was joined by her brother Camron and sister Annie.
“Mamma, If you’re listening, we need you to come home. We miss you,” Annie said.
Guthrie was reported missing shortly before noon Sunday after she failed to show up for church.
While she is still able to drive and is mentally sharp, the Pima County sheriff has said she struggles to walk even short distances.
Authorities say she requires daily medication that is vital to her health and has high blood pressure, a pacemaker, and other heart issues.
The search is now entering its sixth day, but investigators have not identified any suspects or persons of interest.
