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FBI agents who are investigating Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance are reportedly looking into a vacant property in her Arizona neighborhood — as the search for the missing 84-year-old nears the end of its seventh week.
Guthrie, who is the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, disappeared from her home in the Catalina Foothills in the early hours of Feb. 1 in what is now believed to have been a “targeted” abduction.
Video footage captured by a security camera mounted in the doorway of her $1 million home showed a masked, armed intruder approaching the dwelling shortly before she is thought to have been kidnapped—however authorities have yet to identify the person in the clip.
For weeks, investigators have been canvassing her Arizona neighborhood, speaking to neighbors, examining security camera footage from local dwellings, and interviewing anyone who might have had contact with her before she disappeared.
Now, NewsNation correspondent Brian Entin — who has been on the ground outside of Tucson for weeks — reports that local FBI agents may have turned their attention to another target: a property in Nancy’s neighborhood that was vacated by its residents before her disappearance.
“Some of the things that they’re talking about is there’s one neighbor that moved out before Nancy disappeared, and they are asking more questions about that situation,” Entin revealed on a recent episode of his YouTube show, “Brian Entin Investigates.”
“Not to say that that has anything to do with what happened. But that is something the FBI agents are asking about.”
While Entin did not share any other details about why the property may have lured interest from the authorities, retired Pima County SWAT commander Bob Krygier shed some light on how the dwelling might have played a role in Nancy’s capture in a new interview with Parade.
Krygier explained that, oftentimes in cases like this, abductors will look for a vacant property or structure near their victim and use it as a kind of hideout from which they can keep tabs on the person they are following.
The former official said that authorities are likely examining any empty homes near Nancy’s dwelling for this reason—investigating whether those responsible for her disappearance used any local property as a “staging area” before carrying out the crime.
Follow The Post’s live updates on Savannah Guthrie’s missing mom
“They could look at [these kinds of homes] as possible home bases or staging locations for the suspect(s). It would provide them a cover story to be at those locations at different times,” Krygier noted, adding that these properties would enable a kidnapper to remain “under the radar” while watching “the activity in the neighborhood.”
“A location like [a vacant home], out of the prying eye of the neighborhood, could also be a location to set up surveillance equipment if anyone chose [to do so]. It could be easily stashed in a structure or on the property without anyone knowing,” he went on.
As for why such a property might only have come under investigation, Krygier noted that the authorities may well have received a tip from someone who has only just remembered something unusual about the dwelling or a person they may have seen there — adding that investigators are likely pursuing any and all avenues available to them as the search goes on.
His insight into the case comes amid mounting criticism of Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, whose handling of Nancy’s case has faced increasing scrutiny in recent days.
This week, a petition was circulated calling for Nanos’ resignation from his position, with the Arizona Republic revealing that Tucson Republican Daniel Butierez, who is running in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, was going door to door attempting to collect signatures for a recall of the sheriff.
“I’m looking for people to help us out, get involved, go out, get signatures, you can have Democrats, independents, Republicans, sign these as long as they live within Pima County,” Butierez later explained in a Facebook video.
“Help us get these done, get these signed, and let’s get the sheriff out of office and get someone in there that we can feel confident in.”
Nanos has come under heavy fire over the lack of progress on Nancy’s case — criticism that reached fever pitch after it was revealed that he had failed to disclose pertinent details about the start of his career during a sworn deposition in December.
During that deposition, Nanos was asked specifically whether he had ever been suspended, to which he responded, “No.”
The timeline of the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie’s mom:
However, it was later revealed that he had actually been suspended eight times during the early days of his career.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department previously attempted to ease concerns by issuing a media update that addressed furious backlash over “errors” that were identified in Nanos’ online biography, insisting that these were simply “clerical” mistakes.
“The Pima County Sheriff’s Department recently identified two clerical errors in Sheriff Nanos’ publicly posted resume,” the statement read. “Both date discrepancies were administrative in nature and were not intended to mislead or misrepresent Sheriff Nanos’ work history.”
According to the department’s spokesperson, the errors identified related to the dates listed for Nanos’ professional achievements.
The lack of clarity surrounding his work history is set to be discussed when the county’s Board of Supervisors meets on March 24.
Pima County Supervisor Matt Heinz made his opinions on Nanos clear, telling the Republic, “When you see something this troubling and serious going on with one of the county officeholders, it’s very, very important for us to investigate as fully as possible and to find out more information.”
He added, “This man has been living a fraud for the past 43 years in Pima County. I would like to see him removed.”
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