What To Know
- Retired detective Jon Buehler suggested that car tracking and digital search records could help identify suspects in the ongoing Nancy Guthrie case.
- Buehler theorized that a local tradesperson may have targeted Nancy due to her connection to Savannah Guthrie.
- He expressed optimism that the case could still be solved.
As the Nancy Guthrie investigation enters its fifth month with no updates on suspects, a retired detective has spoken about how a careless mistake made by the perpetrator could lead to the case being solved.
Retired Modesto Police Department detective Jon Buehler, who worked on the Laci Peterson case, recently spoke with NewsNation’s Brian Entin, who has been closely following the Nancy case from the start. Buehler suggested the case could still be cracked, noting that newer cars have tracking capabilities.
“If somebody ever plugged her address into a Google search for a Google Maps or whatever, if they did a reverse keyword search on that because those records are maintained for a period of time, to see any random person that would have typed in her address that had a reason to do it and then you’d contact that person and find out why did you put that address,” he explained.
Nancy, the 84-year-old mother of Today‘s Savannah Guthrie, has been missing since February 1, when police believe she was abducted from her home in Tucson, Arizona. Investigators have released doorbell camera footage of a masked suspect and sent DNA for testing at the FBI lab in Quantico, but no suspects have been named.
Buehler pointed out that car tracking could eliminate or target those with legitimate reasons for traveling to Nancy’s address, such as delivery drivers. Like other criminal experts, he theorized that a local tradesperson or service worker could have been behind the alleged abduction once they realized Nancy was related to a wealthy television personality.
“Any tradespeople that maybe were doing plumbing repair or electrical repair, anybody who was delivering furniture, anything that came up where somebody could see her as a source of ransom because of the connection with Savannah and Savannah’s notoriety,” Buehler said.
The retired cop remained hopeful that the case could be solved, even if it might take a long time. “We had a random murder that went 11 years unsolved, and it was only because the one person that could give us the information was afraid to come forward, and it took 11 years for them to get over that fear,” he shared.
He also said the investigators might already have a tip that could break the case; it’s just a matter of timing. “When tips come in on a case like Nancy Guthrie’s, they’re prioritized as best they can, but you still don’t know for sure if they’re prioritized correctly,” he stated. “And so there might be something in there that we’re waiting on, that could break it wide open.”