Investigators have not ruled out the possibility that an accomplice helped the suspected kidnapper seen in the doorbell camera video outside the Tucson, Arizona, home of Nancy Guthrie the night she disappeared, according to Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos.
Authorities believe Nancy Guthrie, 84, was forcibly taken from her home in the middle of the night before she was reported missing on Feb. 1, CBS News reported. Nanos informed CBS News partner BBC News that he believes the apparent abduction targeted Guthrie.
Video recovered from Guthrie’s Google Nest doorbell camera, which the FBI shared last week, is the only footage Google has been able to retrieve from cameras at the home, the sheriff’s department said.
Engineers are still working to recover additional video from other cameras on the property. Investigators said they are hopeful technology experts will uncover more usable footage.
The 88-CRIME tipline reward was increased to $102,500 after a $100,000 anonymous donation, the organization said.
That is in addition to a $100,000 reward offered by the FBI. Authorities have not named a suspect or person of interest.
The FBI described the man seen in the video as between 5 feet 9 inches and 5 feet 10 inches tall with an average build.
“Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie and her siblings, along with their spouses, were cleared as suspects, the sheriff’s department said Monday.
Nanos said the family fully cooperated with investigators.
“We really put them through the wringer,” Nanos said. “We not just interview them, we take their cars, we take their houses, we take their phones, all this stuff and we’re not taking it. They’re giving it to us voluntarily. They have been 100% cooperative with us through everything we’ve asked. They are victims. They are not suspects.”
Investigators are exploring genetic genealogy after DNA recovered from a pair of gloves found about two miles from the home did not match any profiles in a national FBI database.
The DNA from the gloves also did not match other evidence collected at the house, authorities said.
The sheriff’s office said biological evidence recovered from the home remains under laboratory analysis.
Law enforcement sources told CBS News that investigators have used a tracking device known as a signal sniffer to detect possible signals from Guthrie’s heart pacemaker, which showed a disconnect from her phone in the early morning hours the night she vanished.
CBS News also reported the FBI is reviewing gun purchases in the Tucson area.
A local gun store owner said an agent showed him several images and names and asked about purchases made within the last year.
Chip Massey, a former FBI hostage negotiator, said the presence of an accomplice would significantly change the case.
“I think an accomplice, somebody aiding this, this captor, it would certainly be important,” Massey said.
“Think about what he has to control,” he said. “He has to control somebody that he has taken hostage, that he has to maintain her health.”
“He has to look after her wounds. We know she was wounded on the scene. He has to take care of her daily.” Daily needs, everything from food to water to human sustenance,” he said.
“He’d have to have the aid of somebody. He’d have to control his environment,” Massey said, contending that it also assists law enforcement.
“Because now we’re expanding the number of people that are involved in this investigation,” he said.
“You don’t just have one person who is keeping a secret now. You have two people who are keeping a secret. Nerves are frayed in this,” Massey said.
“So two people are under pressure, there’s going to be arguments, there’s going to be screaming. What happens when one breaks away? And what happens if they make that call?” he said. “So that’s what we want to start seeing. That kind of pressure.”