Pima County sheriff admits investigators haven't ruled out second suspect in Nancy Guthrie disappearance

The Pima County Sheriff's Department confirmed on Friday that investigators are "not ruling out" that the masked figure captured on doorbell camera footage at Nancy Guthrie's Tucson, Arizona, home was the only person involved in her disappearance. The admission adds fuel to growing questions about whether more than one suspect participated in the apparent kidnapping of the 84-year-old mother of "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie.

Guthrie went missing on Feb. 1. Doorbell camera footage from her home showed a masked man approaching the front door. Since that footage surfaced, the question has hovered over the case: was he alone?

The sheriff's department now says it cannot answer that definitively.

Conflicting signals from investigators

The carefully worded statement from the sheriff's department does not inspire confidence that authorities have a firm grip on the scope of this case. A department spokesperson said:

"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."

That framing is notable. Sheriff Chris Nanos has explicitly called the masked man on camera the "primary suspect" and "likely perpetrator" in the kidnapping. Meanwhile, FBI Director Kash Patel previously said the agency was investigating more than one "person of interest" in the case, as New York Post reports.

So the local sheriff points to one man. The FBI is looking at multiple persons of interest. And the sheriff's department now concedes it hasn't ruled out accomplices. These are not contradictions that resolve themselves. They suggest an investigation still searching for its own footing.

A still image raises more questions

On the same day surveillance footage from Nancy's house was released, the FBI also put out a still image. Fox News' Michael Ruiz flagged an important gap in a post on X:

"Since we don't have timestamps, I have questions about when this still image was recorded in relation to the videos. Is this even the same guy?"

That is not idle speculation. Without timestamps, there is no way to confirm whether the still image depicts the same individual seen in the doorbell video. If it doesn't, the "second suspect" theory moves from speculation to something far more concrete.

Why one suspect never made sense

Retired Las Vegas police lieutenant Randy Sutton has offered a practical assessment that should give investigators pause. He noted that floodlights at the property appeared to have been broken, calling it "a common thing" done to avoid being silhouetted. It remains unconfirmed whether the lights were broken in connection with the crime, but the detail fits a pattern of deliberate preparation.

Sutton laid out the operational logic plainly:

"I think that the individual at the front of the house was accompanied by somebody who made entry at the rear of the house, and there was probably a driver involved."

His reasoning is straightforward. Nancy Guthrie is an elderly woman with limited mobility. Kidnapping someone in that condition requires physical effort, coordination, and a vehicle ready to move. As Sutton put it:

"It would be very unwieldy to have just one person."

That assessment lines up with what the FBI's broader investigation seems to reflect. One masked figure on a doorbell camera does not necessarily mean one perpetrator.

The walkie-talkie angle

Sutton also suggested investigators should look into tracing walkie-talkie devices, an avenue that could help identify coordination between suspects. He noted that cell tower data has so far turned up no known leads, which itself raises questions. If the suspect or suspects avoided cell phones, they were either disciplined or experienced. Neither possibility is comforting.

An investigation under scrutiny

Sheriff Chris Nanos has come under scrutiny over the handling of this case, and Friday's admission will not quiet those concerns. When the top local law enforcement official calls someone the "likely perpetrator" while his own department simultaneously says it hasn't ruled out additional suspects, the public is left to wonder how solid the investigative picture really is.

The Pima County Sheriff's Department did not respond immediately to requests for comment beyond Friday's statement.

Gun shop owners in Tucson have reportedly been contacted as part of the investigation, though no details from those conversations have been made public. The FBI remains involved. The questions keep multiplying.

What is known is simple and grim: an 84-year-old woman vanished from her home three weeks ago. A masked figure was caught on camera. And the people tasked with finding her still cannot say how many people took her.