Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

Episode: Savannah Guthrie Mom Missing: Day 13
Date: February 13, 2026
Host: Nancy Grace

Overview

Main Theme:
Nancy Grace and an expert panel analyze the investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie (Savannah Guthrie’s mother), missing for 13 days. The episode covers newly discovered surveillance videos, a composite sketch, crucial forensic evidence, and controversy over investigative procedures—including jurisdictional tensions between local police and the FBI. Updates include the release of sketches, DNA evidence recovery, and appeals for public assistance.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. New Surveillance Video Emerges & Crowdsourcing Evidence

[00:50-03:57]

• Doorbell, yard, and wildlife camera footage is flooding in from the public. The FBI and local police are combing through thousands of tips and videos.
• Nancy stresses the importance of not jumping to conclusions based on these videos, as innocent people could be mistakenly implicated.

Quote:

“It's really important that we don't have a wild goose chase for the wrong guy, right? But please, everybody, keep sending your videos, your door cams, your everything, because you never know when you're gonna hit.” – Nancy Grace [02:10]

Expert Input (Tammy Ballard):

“Excluding somebody is as important as including somebody. So whatever information…to include or exclude somebody is very, very critical at this time.” [03:40]

2. The Digital Forensics Push: How the FBI Is Handling Data

[03:57-09:35]

• Scott Eicher (digital forensics, ex-FBI CAST) explains there are likely over 100 analysts reviewing submissions.
• Despite initial limitations (Guthrie’s lack of a paid Nest subscription), the FBI, with Google’s help, managed to retrieve critical porch cam video before its deletion from the cloud.

Quote:

“It’s not easy…You got to hand it to…the CAST people…providing that to Google based on the camera itself—it has a specific identifier that Google can track.” – Scott Eicher [08:26]

3. The Role (and Limits) of Video & Audio Evidence

[09:58-13:26]

• Discussion of whether additional camera footage from inside Guthrie’s home (so-called ‘granny cams’) could be recovered, plus the possibility of audio evidence.
• Not all Nest cameras have microphones; whether any relevant audio was captured remains uncertain.

Quote:

“Some cameras, Nest cameras, have microphones, some do not. So it really just depends on the type of camera that was being used at that point.” – Scott Eicher [13:14]

4. Composite Sketches – Official & Unofficial

[13:26-19:18]

• Review of a widely shared sketch (by retired Houston forensic artist Lois Gibson, not officially released by authorities).
• Debate over accuracy: the ski mask might obscure or distort features such as eyebrows.
• AI’s role in enhancing composite sketches is considered, but experts generally favor a human touch for now.

Quote:

“You don’t want to interject stuff into this investigation that's not approved…You're going to send people down the wrong road if that sketch is off.” – Scott Eicher [18:45]

5. Physical Evidence Bombshell: Gloves & DNA

[19:55-27:47]

• Several gloves found inside Guthrie’s home, sent to a private Florida lab for DNA analysis—a decision questioned by Nancy and experts, given FBI involvement.
• Tammy Ballard explains private labs may be faster and are trusted by local authorities, but only official labs can access CODIS (the national DNA database).

Quote:

“A private lab can't just get into CODIS. ...States can. State crime labs can access CODIS. The FBI can access CODIS. ...It's a national database of DNA.” – Nancy Grace [23:54]

Details on DNA Analysis:

• Gloves likely hold mixed DNA; insider and outsider profiles must be separated for investigation.
• DNA from the gloves could originate from the victim, perpetrator, or even accidental sources (e.g., law enforcement officers, house workers).

Quote:

“Every time you touch an item, you're going to potentially have that transfer of another person's DNA... If those gloves have touched Nancy, then they are going to have Nancy's DNA potentially on them. You need to take her out of the equation so that you're only looking for that perpetrator.” – Tammy Ballard [26:53]

6. Potential Evidence Inside the Home

[33:03-36:27]

• Panelists suggest other evidence to look for: fingerprints, bloodstain pattern analysis (to determine if Guthrie fought back), fiber evidence from clothing or vehicles, hair.
• A shift in investigative focus: from a missing persons case to possible kidnapping as more evidence appears.

7. Vehicle Evidence Focus: The Gray Truck

[37:14-44:11]

• Law enforcement is pushing for video footage of a possible gray truck seen in the neighborhood during two specific windows:
  • January 11th, after 9pm
  • January 31st, 9:30–11:00am
• Tracking a vehicle is critical; car experts can deduce make and model from footage, as in famous recent cases (e.g., Brian Kohberger in Idaho, Mollie Tibbetts).

Quote:

"The vehicle, I can't stress the importance of it... They can look at a car and go, oh yeah, that's a 1984 Chevy Malibu, black in color with blah blah, blah, and all of the details." – Nancy Grace [39:27]

8. The Power—and Peril—of Cell Phone Data

[44:11-46:15]

• Cell tower data is used to track devices that lingered or moved in/out of the crime scene. That’s how a delivery driver was cleared as a suspect after being connected to the area by phone records (he’d made legitimate deliveries).

Quote:

“We do tower dumps for the area around the crime scene…Then we start going through all that data and figure out, okay, which ones are stationary during all this time. That's probably a neighbor or Nancy's phone. Now let's look at the ones that are moving in and out…” – Scott Eicher [45:08]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the rush of public tips:
  “Whatever items of evidence you can get to include or exclude somebody is very, very critical at this time.” – Tammy Ballard [03:40]
• On unofficial sketches and media attention:
  “You don't want to interject stuff into this investigation that's not approved by law enforcement. You're going to send people down the wrong road…” – Scott Eicher [18:45]
• On DNA mixtures in glove evidence:
  “Take a glove, for example. You're going to have the inside of the glove and the outside of the glove. They best be processing those separately…” – Tammy Ballard [26:53]
• On vehicle evidence and expertise:
  “They know it like heart, just like I know the Constitution. That's their business. You can determine the year, the make, the model, because every year, generally there are subtle changes to the body of a car.” – Nancy Grace [39:27]
• On cell phone data’s investigative power:
  “They pulled him over, I believe, because of his cell phone data.” – Nancy Grace [44:50]

Important Timestamps

• [00:50] – Introduction of new surveillance video; panel assembled
• [03:35] – Importance of excluding wrong suspects (Ballard)
• [06:13] – How the FBI handles digital data (Eicher)
• [13:26] – Discussion of the composite sketch and analysis
• [19:55] – Revelation: Gloves & DNA sent to private lab
• [26:53] – DNA mixtures and glove evidence (Ballard)
• [33:03] – Other possible forensic evidence in the house
• [37:14] – Focus on the suspicious gray truck
• [44:11] – Vehicle tracking and cell phone data role

Public Appeals & Closing

[46:15]

• $100,000 reward for tips leading to Nancy Guthrie’s recovery.
• Contact numbers for sourcing information: 1-800-225-5324 and 520-882-7463 for anonymous tips.

Tone & Atmosphere

Nancy Grace’s tone is urgent, focused, and at times incredulous—especially when questioning law enforcement decisions. The panel provides expert, grounded insights; discussion is both technical and geared toward lay listeners. Real-time appeals to the public are emotional, striving to maintain attention on the urgency and human stakes of the case.