Nancy Guthrie video may have been erased after FBI kept out for days, director says

EXCLUSIVE: The hold successful allowing the FBI to assistance successful the probe into Nancy Guthrie's suspected abduction whitethorn person outgo important video grounds owed to the elaborate process progressive successful recovering Nest doorbell footage from the transgression country erstwhile the unfortunate did not person a unreality subscription and her carnal camera was missing arsenic well, according to the FBI director.

Guthrie, the parent of "Today" co-host Savannah Guthrie, was taken from her Tucson, Arizona, location successful the aboriginal hours of Feb. 1, according to authorities.

The FBI worked with Google to retrieve cached video from Guthrie's Nest camera that was not intended for semipermanent retention and was connected the verge of deletion, Director Kash Patel told Fox News Digital.

If determination was more, it was mislaid earlier the FBI became involved, and its evidentiary worth remains unknown.

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Nancy Guthrie was abducted from her Tucson location connected Feb. 1. (Getty Images)

"We were looking for the needle of each needles successful each haystacks, due to the fact that since she didn't wage for it, they didn't grounds that data," helium said. "But determination was a accidental that it was located successful their cache conscionable earlier it was being deleted."

That's wherever investigators recovered the video and inactive images that Patel made nationalist connected Feb. 10, successful the anticipation that idiosyncratic would admit the fishy and crook him in.

A abbreviated clip later, FBI experts had generated a unsmooth carnal description. The masked fishy is described arsenic betwixt 5 feet, 9 inches and 5 feet, 10 inches gangly with a mean build. He was wearing a achromatic Ozark Trail backpack.

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This representation released by the FBI shows an equipped idiosyncratic appearing to person tampered with the camera astatine Nancy Guthrie's beforehand doorway the greeting of her disappearance successful Tucson, Arizona, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (L) An undated photograph of Nancy Guthrie provided by NBC successful effect to the disappearance of the 84-year-old parent of Today Show big Savannah Guthrie. (Provided by FBI; Courtesy of NBC)

A masked antheral appeared connected Guthrie's Nest camera astatine slightest doubly — erstwhile connected the time of her Feb. 1 abduction, and erstwhile astir 3 weeks earlier, Fox News Digital has reported previously. Authorities person not publically ruled retired the imaginable for further suspects successful the case.

There is lone a azygous inactive representation publically disposable from the earlier visit. Experts accidental it's apt that video existed astatine 1 point.

If the FBI were progressive sooner, agents whitethorn person been capable to retrieve further evidence, which perchance whitethorn person included a fishy vehicle, much footage of the masked intruder oregon adjacent further imagery from a anterior sojourn to Guthrie's home, Patel said.

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Photos released connected Feb. 10, 2026, amusement a "subject" connected Nancy Guthrie's property. (Provided by FBI)

"What we bash cognize is that the longer you wait, there's nary accidental of recovering the video," said Morgan Wright, the CEO and laminitis of the National Center for Open and Unsolved Cases. "The earlier you get started, the amended your chances. Waiting 4 days whitethorn person been fatal to the betterment of immoderate video that could person been much illuminating."

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Time is the force of each investigations and the thief of captious evidence. You tin ne'er spell backmost and get this grounds erstwhile it's gone. Time is the astir captious origin successful immoderate probe whether it's uncovering the suspect, uncovering the victim, oregon uncovering the evidence.

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Because Google and the FBI were capable to retrieve astatine slightest immoderate video done this process, it's just to infer that earlier video would person existed arsenic well, Wright told Fox News Digital.

WATCH: Nancy Guthrie's Nest doorbell cam records masked suspect

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"If this was recovered from a backend cache and it was astir deleted, that implies that different video was deleted due to the fact that they would person been capable to retrieve much than what they did," helium said. "Timing is ever an issue."

At this point, however, immoderate whitethorn oregon whitethorn not person existed remains chartless and unavailable to investigators.

FBI investigators hunt Catalina Foothills successful Tucson, Arizona, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. The investigations into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie continues. (DWS for Fox News Digital)

"Time is the force of each investigations and the thief of captious evidence," Wright said. "You tin ne'er spell backmost and get this grounds erstwhile it's gone. Time is the astir captious origin successful immoderate probe whether it's uncovering the suspect, uncovering the victim, oregon uncovering the evidence."

Patel has antecedently said the FBI was acceptable to assistance connected time 1 and explained this week that helium wanted to deploy scores of FBI unit from the outset. However, section authorities didn't petition the FBI's assistance for 4 days.

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FBI investigators canvass the vicinity astir Annie Guthrie's location successful Tucson, Arizona, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026.  (DWS for Fox News Digital)

By the clip the FBI arrived, the transgression country had already been released. People had been allowed to sound connected Guthrie's beforehand door, wherever her humor was connected the porch. It was secured erstwhile more, and FBI agents spent hours examining the location and the yard, collecting further location information cameras.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has countered that an FBI task unit subordinate was contiguous during the archetypal stages of the probe — nevertheless that serviceman is not a national agent.

The sheriff's section declined to remark for this story.

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Anyone with accusation connected Guthrie's kidnapping is asked to dial 1-800-CALL-FBI oregon 520-88-CRIME to stay anonymous.

The combined sum of rewards successful the lawsuit is much than $1.2 million.