TRUE CRIME NEWSInvestigators Have Not 'Ruled Out' Possibility of Accomplice in Nancy Guthrie Kidnapping
The suspect captured on Nancy Guthrie's doorbell camera may have had an accomplice, according to investigators.
Feb. 20 2026, Published 11:07 a.m. ET
Investigators are exploring whether the masked suspect seen outside Nancy Guthrie's home on the night she went missing had help.
Today star Savannah Guthrie's 84-year-old mother mysteriously vanished from her Arizona home on February 1, and it's presumed she was kidnapped by an armed man captured tampering with her doorbell camera at around 2 a.m.
In a statement to an outlet on Thursday, February 19, a Pima County Sheriff's Department spokesperson shared they're examining the prospect that the person was working with an accomplice.
Investigators are exploring the possibility of whether Nancy Guthrie's kidnapper had help.
'Whoever Did That Knew What They Were Up To'
The sheriff believes Savannah Guthrie's mom is the victim of a 'targeted kidnapping.'
"The sheriff has said all along that while investigators are working to identify the person seen on doorbell video, they are not ruling out that that was the only person involved," the spokesperson said.
The statement comes just days after Sheriff Chris Nanos told Fox News that he believes Nancy, whose blood was found outside her front door, is the victim of a "targeted kidnapping."
Shutting down rumors that her disappearance was the result of a burglary gone wrong, he said, "Whoever did that knew what they were up to, knew who they were after."
The Suspect Was Wearing a Backpack Sold Exclusively at Walmart
Nancy Guthrie was last seen on January 31.
The FBI has described the unidentified person as "approximately 5’9” - 5’10", with an average build" and wearing a "black, 25-liter ‘Ozark Trail Hiker Pack’ backpack," according to an X post that followed the release of the surveillance footage on February 10.
The sheriff previously said the suspect's backpack, sold exclusively at Walmart, was one of their most promising leads. He also revealed that the retail giant has provided records of all Ozark Trail Hiker purchases online and in-store over the past few months.
Additionally, Chris shared in an interview with Today on Wednesday, February 18, that DNA evidence discovered at Nancy's Tucson, Ariz., home could lead to an arrest.
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The Glove Found Near Nancy Guthrie's Home Didn't 'Trigger a Match' in CODIS
Unknown DNA was found at the crime scene.
"We believe we may have some DNA there that may be our suspect, but we won't know that until that DNA is separated, sorted out," he explained. "To me, that's more critical than any glove I found two miles away."
The sheriff was referring to a glove discovered yards away from the upscale Catalina Foothills home that unfortunately did not "trigger a match" in CODIS, the FBI's national database.
Investigators are now in the process of employing the same forensic strategy that caught Bryan Kohberger in the 2022 University of Idaho murders.
Investigators Are Hoping to Find a Suspect Using IGG
Investigators are using the same forensic technique that caught Bryan Kohberger in the 2022 University of Idaho murders.
The technique, known as investigative genetic genealogy (IGG), involves uploading DNA found at a crime scene to genealogy databases like Ancestry.com, GEDmatch or 23andMe.
If a relative of the person whose DNA was collected submitted their own sample into the system, investigators can build a family tree that helps them narrow in on a suspect.
The groundbreaking technique first garnered attention in 2018 after law enforcement used it to track down the Golden State Killer, a prolific serial rapist and killer that terrorized California residents during the 1970s and '80s.
