FBI releases images of armed man in ski mask at Nancy Guthrie’s door

TUCSON, Arizona - US authorities on Feb 10 released video and photos of an armed man in a ski mask apparently tampering with the door camera at the Arizona home of US television host Savannah Guthrie’s elderly mother, who was

abducted nine days ago

.

The images released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Pima County Sheriff’s Department show the man, with gloves, a backpack and what appears to be a gun in a holster, approaching the front door of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie’s home near Tucson.

A law enforcement official said the images recovered from a Google Nest camera on the home’s front doorbell were recorded in the early hours of Feb 1, about the time that the authorities have said they believe Mrs Guthrie was abducted.

She was last seen on the night of Jan 31, when her family dropped her off at her home after dining with her.

Relatives reported her missing the following day, according to the sheriff’s department, after she failed to show up for Sunday church services.

At one point in the video, the masked figure appears to be trying to obscure the camera with foliage gathered nearby, then appears to damage it.

The individual’s head is facing down as he approaches the door, suggesting an awareness of the camera’s location, the law enforcement official said.

Sheriff Chris Nanos has said the camera was disabled in the early hours of Feb 1.

He said Mrs Guthrie’s pacemaker disconnected from her phone about a half-hour later, and that she was presumably taken from the house by force.

No suspects identified

The sheriff’s department and FBI said on the night of Feb 9 that investigators had yet to identify suspects or “persons of interest” in the case.

“Law enforcement has uncovered these previously inaccessible new images showing an armed individual appearing to have tampered with the camera at Nancy Guthrie’s front door the morning of her disappearance,” FBI director Kash Patel wrote in a message posted on social media platform X with the images on Feb 10.

Mr Patel was at the investigation’s Tucson command post on Feb 9, the law enforcement official said.

At least two purported ransom notes have surfaced since Mrs Guthrie vanished, both of them delivered initially to news media outlets.

Her disappearance has attracted wide attention.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt began her press briefing on Feb 10 by saying that she and President Donald Trump had just reviewed the newly released images.

“The President encourages any American across the country with any knowledge of the suspect to please call the FBI, who continue to assist state and local authorities who are leading this investigation on the ground,” Ms Leavitt said.

Ms Savannah Guthrie and her brother and sister have posted several video messages on social media pleading for the public to help with tips and for the kidnappers to return their mother or communicate with them directly.

The family has said that they would pay a ransom.

Ms Guthrie, a long-time co-anchor of the NBC morning news programme Today, shared the new images on Instagram on Feb 10 with the caption: “We believe she is still alive. Bring her home.” REUTERS