A white forensics tent has been erected outside Nancy Guthrie’s home in the very place a chilling figure wearing a ski mask and thick gloves was seen approaching her home just 11 days ago.
The 84-year-old was abducted from her $1 million Tucson, Arizona home in the early hours of February 1.
Four officers arrived at Guthrie’s home in an unmarked black vehicle around 8am Thursday, the Daily Mail can reveal. Two officers in clothes were carrying a bag containing the tent, while the others brought in additional equipment.
The large tent, which blocked the entrance to Guthrie’s home and the front porch where investigators previously found blood that matched her DNA, was taken down about an hour after being erected.
As of now, there is no further indication of exactly what officials were looking for. But forensic tents are typically erected when investigators want to conceal a body, weapon or other critical pieces of evidence.
The front porch has been routinely trampled on by authorities and family members throughout the investigation. It was left exposed to outdoor elements, with the blood found splattered on the ground having been dried out by the sun.
One Pima County Sheriff’s source told the Daily Mail: ‘This is amateur hour.’
Nancy’s daughter, Today Show host Savannah Guthrie, posted a heartbreaking video tribute to her mother just minutes after news about the tent broke.
‘Our lovely mom,’ Savannah wrote. ‘We will never give up on her. Thank you for your prayers and hope.’
The latest breakthrough comes after FBI agents carried out a minute-by-minute search of the rugged scrubland around the home on Wednesday.
Investigators have been inundated with thousands of tips after publishing doorbell camera footage showing the suspect approaching Nancy’s residence, then realizing the camera was recording him and tearing it off.
Several hundred detectives and agents have been assigned to the investigation.
Until Tuesday, it seemed authorities were making little headway in determining what happened to Nancy or finding who was responsible.
The surveillance photos showing a masked person trying to cover a doorbell camera on her front porch marked the first significant break in the case.
But the images did not show what happened to her or help determine whether she is still alive.
FBI Director Kash Patel said his team spent days trying to find lost, corrupted or inaccessible images.
Two investigators emerged from her daughter Annie Guthrie’s home on Wednesday with a paper grocery sack and a white trash bag.
One, still wearing blue protective gloves, also took a stack of letters from the roadside mailbox. They drove away without speaking to reporters.
Annie and her husband, Tommaso Cioni, who live several miles away from Nancy, were the last people to see the 84-year-old before she was abducted.
A black glove that looks similar to the one her abductor wore in the chilling doorbell camera footage was recovered near Nancy’s home.
The item was found by detectives about one and a half miles from the 84-year-old’s home on Wednesday, the tenth day into the search for her.
The Daily Mail understands the lone glove, found lying in a small shrub, was bagged up, taken by authorities and submitted for DNA analysis.
Officials have not given a definitive answer on who it belonged to.
Investigators are expanding their request for security video from Nancy’s neighbors in Catalina Foothills, KOLD reported.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department has asked people to check their cameras for video from 9pm to midnight on January 11. That is nearly three weeks before Nancy went missing.
They have also requested footage from 9.30am to 11am on January 31, hours before Nancy’s abduction.
Investigators said a suspicious vehicle was spotted on Via Entrada around 10am on January 31.
Savannah, Annie and their brother Camron have indicated a willingness to pay a ransom.
It is not known whether ransom notes demanding money with deadlines that have already passed were authentic, and whether the family has had any contact with whoever took Nancy.
Sheriff Chris Nanos has described Nancy as mentally sound but with limited mobility. She takes several medications, raising urgent concerns about her well-being without them.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
