Nancy Guthrie case: Heavy police activity in Tucson neighborhoods as search for kidnapped woman continues; WATCH
There is a lot of police activity near Western University in Tucson, Arizona Thursday. Meanwhile, local authorities and the FBI are looking for Nancy Guthrie84-year-old TODAY host mother Savannah GuthrieReported missing on February 1st.
Authorities believe she was taken from her home in Catalina Foothills the night before. More than two months later, no suspects have emerged in the case, and Guthrie has still not been found. The area witnessing police activity today is approximately eight to nine miles from Guthrie’s home.
KVOA reporter Jacob Owens shared video of the police activity. “Here are some scenes from around Western University,” he wrote. Owens noted that a helicopter was in the area and police were also seen with a K-9 unit. Typically, these resources are used when trying to find something.
“A helicopter was circling overhead and police had a K-9 in the area. We are waiting for more information from TPD. A neighbor said this has been going on for 60/90 minutes in Midtown,” the post added. The clip shows a large number of police cars on the streets.
Is the police presence relevant to the Nancy Guthrie case?
There has been no official confirmation whether the police activity is related to the Guthrie case. It’s worth noting that the Pima County Sheriff’s Department was the lead on the case, so they were likely involved in the operation, not just the Tucson Police Department seen in the video.
“We were just talking about the field,” one person commented on the video.
It’s unclear why police were there. Owens shared another update, writing “It appears the helicopter left the area just before 4:30. There are now a lot of TPD vehicles on North 7th Avenue as it appears TPD just put a shirtless man in the back of a squad car. Paramedics are now here as well”.
He also shared another video where paramedics can be seen at the scene.
Notably, investigators have warned that time is of the essence in Guthrie’s case due to his advanced age and poor underlying health. There were reports that Guthrie suffered from high blood pressure and heart problems and used a pacemaker. Authorities acted on the assumption that she was still alive. If found, Guthrie would also need medical attention given her age.
Meanwhile, a retired FBI agent suggested that Guthrie had tried to fight off the kidnappers, drawing that conclusion by analyzing blood stains on Guthrie’s porch that authorities said belonged only to the octogenarian.
