Nancy Guthrie’s kidnapper could have disconnected her doorbell camera as a “test” to see if doing so would alert police, an NBC News law enforcement expert suggested Friday.
As authorities piece together a fuller timeline for the disappearance of “Today” host Savannah Guthrie’s mother, investigators are zeroing in on a 20-minute window between 1:47 a.m. Sunday, when the 84-year-old’s doorbell camera disconnected, and 2:12 a.m., when software data recorded movement on her phone.
“What’s with that 20-minute gap? The camera gets ripped off the doorbell, but then there’s motion seen on the camera outside, you know, 20 minutes later,” NBC National Law Enforcement & Intelligence Correspondent Tom Winter said during Friday’s “Today” show.
Nancy Guthrie’s kidnapper could have disconnected her doorbell camera as a “test” to see if doing so would alert police. BACKGRIDHe speculated that Nancy’s abductor “took the doorbell camera off and waited to see if police arrived,” citing anonymous law enforcement sources.
“Then, perhaps thinking the coast was clear, [he] goes back to the house. We don’t know. We don’t know the specifics of what camera detected the motion either,” Winter said.
Nancy Guthrie, mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie, has been missing since Saturday. Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty ImagesTechnology is at the center of the investigation to find Nancy, Winter explained.
He added that a supposed ransom letter sent to three news networks which had references to a floodlight and an Apple Watch might not validate the note.
He pointed out that many homes have floodlights, and Nancy was pictured on the “Today” show wearing her Apple Watch before the apparent abduction.
Winter appeared on Friday’s “Today” show, days after it was revealed that Savannah would not be traveling to Italy for NBC Sports’ Winter Olympics coverage.
On Wednesday, she appeared alongside her two siblings in an emotional appeal for the kidnappers to provide information about their mother.
