Nancy Guthrie kidnapping subject of interest caught on video

The search for missing Arizona grandmother Nancy Guthrie is set to enter its third month, with detectives still utterly perplexed by the disappearance of NBC Today show host Savannah Guthrie’s 84 year old mother.

New analysis of surveillance footage released by law enforcement reveals a troubling detail about the abduction. The enhanced video shows the perpetrator, clad in thick rubber gloves and a ski mask to hide their identity, moving around the entrance of Nancy’s 3,776-square-foot, five-bedroom home prior to the kidnapping.

The FBI has labeled the individual in the video as a “suspect in the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie,” stating he stands approximately 5’9″ or 5’10” tall and weighs roughly 230 pounds (about 16 stone). Former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer has voiced her suspicions that there may have been another person inside the house when the figure was detected on CCTV.

However, what analysts find odd is the visible suspect’s apparent confidence. Displaying little of the hesitation experts typically expect from similar criminals, the suspect seems to head directly to a specific spot before swiftly disabling the doorbell camera.

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According to a report in the International Business Times, the suspect didn’t seem to be navigating the property for the first time. Instead, the swift, deliberate movement suggests the person may have had previous knowledge of the layout, including the location of surveillance equipment.

Law enforcement officials continue to search for Nancy Guthrie (Image: NBC, Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)

The unidentified suspect appeared to possess intimate knowledge of Nancy’s schedule, striking several hours after her son-in-law Tommaso Cioni had safely delivered her home just before 10 p.m. on Saturday, January 31.

Cioni had ensured she entered the residence securely before departing, and the property’s security system recorded no activity until approximately 2:28 a.m. local time, when the masked perpetrator approached the dwelling with notable confidence.

Former FBI agent Bryanna Fox analyzed the footage for CNN, observing the suspect appeared remarkably casual and composed, noting he “almost saunters up like that’s his house.” She emphasized there appeared to be “a lack of concern that he’s going to be caught. He still has this kind of air of bravado, that he’s going to be able to get away with this.”

The suspect’s body-language implied an easy familiarity with his target, experts said (Image: Anadolu, Anadolu via Getty Images)

There’s a suspicion that the individual may have visited the property before (Image: Joe Raedle, Getty Images)

CNN Senior Law Enforcement Analyst Andrew McCabe, who previously served as deputy director of the FBI, similarly highlighted how the suspect’s manner was “not particularly furtive or concerned.”

Analysts indicate the suspect was armed, though appeared inexperienced with weapons. “In my opinion, this is not someone, first of all, who was ever trained to carry a gun,” McCabe stated.

“No person with law enforcement or military training would ever carry a firearm in a holster like that, right where that is at almost the centre of his body, hanging off of his belt there,” he explained. “It’s not very tactically sound for a lot of reasons.” Retired FBI supervisory special agent Steve Moore observed that the suspect’s holster was ill-suited for the weapon in question: “It’s kind of ridiculous.

“He’s got a small, semiautomatic pistol meant for concealment that he could have put in his pocket, but instead he’s holstering it in a holster made for a large-frame revolver. They don’t even match.”

Experts unanimously concluded that this person appeared inexperienced in criminal activity, potentially attempting their inaugural offence of this kind.