NEWSNancy Guthrie Investigators Believe Masked Suspect Purchased Items From Walmart as They Review Surveillance Footage at Local Stores
The sheriff said the retail giant has been helpful in their investigation.
Feb. 16 2026, Published 2:46 p.m. ET
Investigators assigned to the case of Savannah Guthrie's missing mom, Nancy Guthrie, are focusing on items the purported suspect allegedly purchased at Walmart.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told CBS News on Monday, February 16, that authorities believe the clothing, ski mask and backpack worn by the person in the chilling surveillance photos released last week were bought from the popular superstore.
Chris shared that investigators have spent days reviewing CCTV footage at local Tucson, Ariz., stores in the hopes to find the suspected kidnapper, as the 84-year-old mother of the Today star remains missing.
The alleged suspect seen in the recently released surveillance photos wore an Ozark Trail Hiker backpack from Walmart.
As OK! previously reported, the backpack worn by the suspect in the images was a black Ozark Trail Hiker, which is sold exclusively at Walmart.
The sheriff, who said the backpack at this point is one one of their most promising leads, also divulged that the retail giant has provided records of all Ozark Trail Hiker online and in-store purchases over the past few months.
When Did Nancy Guthrie Vanish?
Nancy Guthrie was reported missing by family members on February 1.
Nancy mysteriously vanished on Sunday, February 1, with her local daughter, Annie, and husband Tommaso Cioni, reportedly the last to see her alive the night before.
The first major break in the case came on Tuesday, February 10, when the FBI announced they uncovered photos from surveillance footage captured via Nancy's doorbell camera.
In the black-and-white photos, an armed, masked man appears to be tampering with the camera before she went missing.
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How Did Investigators Recover the Surveillance Footage?
Investigators uncovered the suspect images from 'residual data located in backend systems.'
The sheriff had initially said that a Google Nest camera attached to Guthrie’s door was disconnected just before 2 a.m. on the night she disappeared.
While the camera’s software detected movement minutes later, Chris said at the time that there was no video available because Nancy apparently didn’t have an active subscription to the company.
But FBI Director Kash Patel shared in a statement last Tuesday that investigators were able to pull the videos from "residual data located in backend systems."
Motive Behind Nancy Guthrie's Abduction Remains Unclear
The sheriff explained they still don't know why someone kidnapped Savannah Guthrie's 84-year-old mother.
Chris also revealed in another interview with an outlet on Monday that detectives were "stuck" in terms of the motive of her alleged kidnappers.
Explaining that he believes Nancy was abducted, rather than the victim of a burglary gone wrong, he said, "The motivation for it is where we get stuck, right? Is it for money? I mean, we had the one demand where they asked for money. But is it really for money, or is it revenge for something?"
The sheriff also confirmed that "nobody" has been ruled out, as the hunt for the NBC anchor's mother continues.
