“We are asking everyone to check their security cameras and doorbell cameras, especially after 8pm on Saturday nights.”
TUCSON, Ariz. – It’s just after 7 p.m. It’s already dark in the Catalina Mountains, not far from where authorities say “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie’s mother was kidnapped.
There are no street lights. No one walks down the dark residential street, winding past the subdued lights of the adobe walls of luxury homes, surrounded by mesquite trees that perfume the desert air. And above the dark silhouettes of giant saguaros lies a sky with unobstructed light.
The rural nature of the area, a famously dark-sky region, may have helped mask the alleged kidnapping for ransom of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, who is in her 80s, on January 31st.
Still, the home had multiple security cameras and more than a dozen outdoor light fixtures. Other homes in the area also had cameras installed. However, despite continued efforts, so far no camera footage has led police to identify the vehicle or the suspect, authorities announced on February 5th.
With everything from home surveillance cameras to license plate reading technology to biometric facial recognition seemingly everywhere in America, how can a potential kidnapper get away without being seen?
“We ask everyone to check their security cameras and doorbells, especially after 8 p.m. on Saturday nights,” the Catalina Foothills Association said in a Feb. 2 email to residents obtained by USA TODAY. “Your help could make a difference.”
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said investigators continue to work door-to-door collecting and analyzing video from residents and businesses. But it’s happening in areas with fewer cameras and less light than in urban areas.
“Living in such a rural area, we face these challenges all the time,” Nanos said, adding that even though the cameras “might only capture part of what’s going by. They can’t capture the whole car. That kind of thing. We’re not going to give up.”
Security cameras in Guthrie’s home are also being scrutinized. Nanos said multiple cameras were installed on the premises. Officials said Thursday that the doorbell camera at her home was disconnected at 1:47 a.m. Camera software recorded motion at 2:12 a.m.
However, it was not recorded because Guthrie did not have a subscription agreement.
“Was it an animal? I think that’s a possibility,” Nanos said. “We don’t know that.”
The blood found on the balcony of Nancy Guthrie’s home has been confirmed to be hers, the sheriff said. “The only DNA evidence we recovered was on the balcony,” he said. “We learned the importance of that blood. It came back to Nancy.”
Authorities believe Nancy Guthrie was taken from her home “against her will” after going to her parents’ home on game night. The next day, her family began to worry when she did not come to church.
- January 31st 5:32pm Guthrie traveled to his family’s home for the night of the game.
- January 31st 9:48pm When her family dropped her off at home, the garage door opened.
- January 31st 9:50pm The garage door is closed.
- February 1st 1:47am The doorbell camera in front of Guthrie’s home was disconnected.
- February 1st 2:12am The smart home software has detected a person on the camera, but video is not available.
- February 1st 2:28am Guthrie’s pacemaker app shows it has been disconnected from her phone.
- February 1st 11:56am Her family is checking on her.
- February 1st 12:03pm Her family called 9-1-1 to report her missing.
- February 1st 12:15pm A police car arrives.
Authorities are currently offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to her discovery.
FBI Special Agent Heiss Janke confirmed Thursday that the ransom demand letter, which seeks “monetary value,” has two deadlines: Feb. 5 and Feb. 9. Officials reiterated that she needed medication daily.
“They know that every minute counts. If anyone who may have Nancy sees this, the family is ready to talk and get proof that she’s alive, because they haven’t been able to contact her since the ransom note was leaked to the media,” he said at a news conference.
As the investigation continues, some rural neighbors say they understand why the characteristics of the area make it difficult to quickly find video evidence to identify a suspect.
The foothills of Mt. Catalina are very dark.
For one thing, it’s dark. It’s very dark.
In 2023, Saguaro National Park in Pima County was recognized as an Urban Night Sky Location. The area also has property lighting codes that include outdoor light screening. It is primarily seen as a comfort and not a problem.
“People love the night sky, the sky is full, and there are no street lights because astronomy is a big part of Tucson’s economy,” said Tom Pugh, director of the Catalina Foothills Association.
Residents enjoy starry skies and a natural rocky landscape of black-barked mesquite trees dotted with bobcats and javelinas, he said.
Mary Wombat, 65, who has lived in the neighborhood for 50 years, said a black bear was seen on security cameras three times near her home. One time it was just after sunrise. As for the other two, she said the bears got close enough to trip over the lights and cameras.
“This is our countryside,” Wombat said.
It’s pitch black at night, so dog walks are done in the light. Or bring a flashlight if you need it, said Karen Lane, 44, who lives nearby.
Some residents noted that crime is usually low in hilly areas and the area has long felt safe.
USA TODAY analyzed photos and video from the scene and found that Guthrie’s home had at least 14 outdoor light fixtures, including floodlights near the garage and outside the building. It is unclear which of them was present the night she disappeared.
These are in addition to multiple cameras cited by investigators.
Camara footage won’t help Guthrie investigation
Resident Chris Wilkie, 50, wasn’t surprised that cameras in the area weren’t as useful as some people thought.
“It’s going to be difficult to pick up vehicles that are leaving the scene using doorbells, Ring, etc.,” he said.
Doorbell cameras often use infrared light to illuminate the night scene, but many can reach only 15 to 30 feet, making them bad at identifying long-range details at night, according to PCWorld.
Russell Long, a real estate agent who lives near Guthrie, said three law enforcement officers came to his home Wednesday and asked him about his security cameras and if they had cameras facing the street.
Long said many homes sit on lots of at least an acre, and the lots are surrounded by plants such as saguaro cacti, palo verde and mesquite trees. Houses hidden in desert landscapes or long driveways can make it difficult to see activity from the road.
“Even if there were cameras, they wouldn’t show much,” Long said.
Long said more people in his neighborhood have burglar alarm systems than camera systems.
The Guthrie incident requires a rethink of security, including Willkie. But Long said he considers Guthrie’s disappearance an “extraordinary situation” in the Catalina foothills.
“I think most people probably feel that this was a targeted situation, not a random attack,” he said.
Nanos said his team could not determine whether Guthrie was the target of a crime. “We’ll learn more about what the motive is as the investigation progresses, but for now my guess is as accurate as yours,” he said.
The FBI and local law enforcement authorities are currently examining various digital evidence, including night camera footage, in hopes of closing the case. Officials still hope they can find a way to glean information from unrecorded camera detections at the Guthrie residence.
Authorities had already determined that one ransom demand was fake. On February 5, a California man, Derrick Cajera, was arrested on two charges for allegedly sending false requests to Nancy Guthrie’s family, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona announced.
But both investigators and Guthrie’s neighbors know time is running out. By 5pm on February 5th, another ransom note’s initial deadline had passed.
For now, investigators and the Guthrie family remain in the dark.
Contributed by: Shawn Sullivan, Rene Ray De La Cruz, Victorville Daily Press
