Finding Nancy Guthrie: Evidence in Plain Sight - Ep. 7

Summary

---

Finding Nancy Guthrie: Evidence in Plain Sight – Episode 7

Podcast: Finding Nancy Guthrie
Host: Lynden Blake (The Daily Wire)
Date: February 12, 2026

---

Episode Overview

In this gripping episode, host and investigative reporter Lynden Blake provides an in-depth update on day 11 of the search for Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie. The episode centers on newly discovered physical evidence, mounting theories about the suspect, and the increasingly strange developments in what many consider the most shocking and confounding missing-person case in America. Blake draws on law enforcement sources, expert opinions, interviews, and the latest public tips to dissect emerging clues and analyze the trajectory of the investigation.

---

Key Developments and Discussion Points

1. Major Evidence Discovery: The Black Glove

• Discovery: FBI agents recovered a black glove on the roadside about 1.5 miles from Nancy Guthrie’s home—an item matching those seen on the masked suspect in the doorbell camera footage.
  • [01:12] Blake underscores the potential importance:

    “Huge piece of information, potential evidence located on the side of the road.”

• Implications: Investigators hope for usable DNA on the glove, possibly linking it to the crime scene. However, after 11 days, it’s unclear if this glove is directly connected.
  • Blake:

    “Could be nothing. Could be, could be someone's random glove that is on the side of the road because again, it has been 11 days.”

• Expert skepticism:
  • [07:15] Carlos (Delivery Driver):

    “The idea that they've only found one glove, it's pretty far from the scene… He throws one glove out the window as he leaves the scene. It's a little bit much to believe at this point, but perps do crazy things that are inexplicable.”

---

2. Investigation: Search Patterns and Key Locations

• Ongoing Searches: Authorities continue “extensive searches” around Nancy Guthrie’s property and also repeatedly visit the home of Annie Guthrie (a relative, contextually implied).
  • [04:13] Blake discusses the significance:

    “...repeated returns to Annie Guthrie's neighborhood, which was not the origin of this crime.”

• Investigator Focus: Uncertainty remains about why agents are so focused on certain family homes, but repeated visits suggest active leads or evidence retrieval.
  • “They were going up behind the brush, all over, up and down the road. We saw that today at Nancy guthrie's home. But why keep returning to the same spot?”

---

3. Doorbell Camera Video: Central Evidence and Public Reaction

• Doorbell Footage Released: The widely circulated footage of a masked, armed suspect (notably wearing black gloves and carrying a distinctive Ozark Trail backpack) sparked public interest and led to over 4,000 tips in a single day.
  • [05:29] Blake:

    “We know that there's this backpack, an Ozark trail backpack… with the same reflective straps that you see in the doorbell camera video.”

• Physical Evidence Matching: Officials aim to cross-reference local purchase histories for the backpack, gloves, shoes, and related items.
• Unusual Suspect Behavior: Host and experts note the suspect’s “nonchalantness” on the footage and expert attention to detail in concealing identity.
  • [01:01] Lynden Blake:

    “This letter, Sean is so well concerned. I read it and think this is a really intelligent person. And then you look at this and there's something bumbling about it.”

---

4. Suspects, Detainment, and Release

• Delivery Driver (Carlos) Questioned and Released:
  • A Rio Rico delivery driver, Carlos, was detained after a tip but later released.
    • [05:30] Carlos:

      “Yeah, I work in tucson… Deliver packages... Might have been a possibility.”

  • Officials clarify Carlos was not suspected solely due to surveillance footage but for other reasons; he’s now cleared as a suspect.

---

5. Ransom Notes, Bitcoin, and Theories of Motive

• TMZ’s Involvement & Bitcoin Ransom:
  • TMZ reports on new ransom notes demanding one bitcoin (~$66,000) for information on Nancy’s captor—yet notably, no proof of life is ever provided.
    • Blake:

      “I mean, it's just bizarre. It just keeps getting weirder. Once again, TMZ who got this note, said that the bitcoin address in this new note was legit.”

• Skepticism Over Kidnapping Narrative:
  • Experts and law enforcement argue the case may not fit typical kidnapping-for-ransom; random kidnappings of elderly people are exceedingly rare.
    • [09:31] Christopher Flanagan (Ex-NYPD):

      “Kidnappings, first of all, are so like a stranger kidnapping is so rare in this country… In New York City, the last kidnapping, where it was like a stranger kidnapping kind of off the street, had happened in 1993.”

• Bitcoin Trackability:
  • Flanagan explains the dual nature of bitcoin—easily traceable between wallets but challenging to de-anonymize and cash out.
    • [11:48] Flanagan:

      “Tracking bitcoin from one wallet to another, seeing where it went, that's all easily… done. The weakness… is transferring it… into cash.”

  • Harvey Levin (TMZ):
    • [12:50] “I have never said an amount and there is a reason I haven't said an amount and I am going to stick to that…”

---

6. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Black Glove’s Importance:

  • Lynden Blake:

    “Could be nothing. Could be… someone's random glove… But this is big because you now have this black glove that investigators now have in their possession that they're going to be able to potentially find some DNA on…” (01:12)

  • Carlos (Delivery Driver):

    “He was robed up foot to head to make sure… he didn't leave any DNA. He throws one glove out the window… it's a little bit much to believe at this point, but perps do crazy things…” (07:15)

• On Probability of Random Kidnappings:

  • Christopher Flanagan:

    "...A stranger kidnapping is so rare in this country. More common in south and Central America. But… in New York City…, from 1993 to 2013, in a city of 8 million people, we had no kidnappings." (09:31)

• On the Odd Nature of the Case:

  • Narrator/Host (Blake):

    “This is just such a bizarre crime. Another just mysterious wrinkle in this entire case.” (13:19)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:14 - Discovery of black glove and FBI update
• 01:12 - Significance and possible implications of the glove
• 04:13 - Persistent searches at Annie Guthrie’s home
• 05:29 - Doorbell footage analysis and public tips
• 05:30 - Interview with Carlos, the delivery driver
• 07:15 - Skepticism over glove as a clue
• 07:51 - Reenactment of Nest cam footage, potential for more evidence
• 09:31 - Former NYPD Christopher Flanagan on kidnapping cases
• 10:24 - Bitcoin ransom demands, lack of proof of life
• 11:48 - Technical explanation on bitcoin tracking
• 12:50 - TMZ’s stance on not revealing bitcoin activity
• 13:19 - Host summarizes the continued mystery

---

Summary & Takeaways

• Physical evidence is mounting, but its significance is uncertain.
• Suspect identification remains elusive; recurring search patterns may indicate investigators are narrowing in.
• Ransom communications continue but lack the elements of credible kidnappings, such as proof of life.
• Expert commentary suggests the case may deviate from classic ransom kidnapping, adding to the overall sense of confusion and urgency.
• Public involvement is central: authorities urge those with information to contact the FBI tip line as the investigation escalates.

For tips, contact the FBI: 1-800-call-FBI.

---

Transcript

[Lyndon Blake]

So I think what he's wearing, they are going to try to find out who bought it because these are not things that I would think people just ordinarily have. I mean, the gloves are bizarre.

[Narrator/Host]

Authorities made a gripping discovery today in the hunt for Nancy Guthrie's kidnappers. FBI agents recovered an article of clothing from a roadside near the home of Today show host Savannah Guthrie's mother, Cash. Patel says the FBI is actively looking at several persons of interest. I will say we have made substantial progress in these last 36, 48 hours. And the Rio Rico delivery driver who was detained in last night's police raid has been released. I mean, I hope they get the suspect because I'm not it. They better do their job and find the suspect that they did it so they can clear my name. TMZ has received a new Nancy Guthrie ransom note. And this email includes a demand for one bitcoin in exchange for information about the 84 year old grandmother's captor.

[Lyndon Blake]

This letter, Sean is so well concerned. I read it and think this is a really intelligent person. And then you look at this and there's something bumbling about it.

[Narrator/Host]

At the same time, authorities took mail today from Annie Guthrie's mailbox and left carrying bags. Why do officials keep going back to Annie and Tommaso's home? I'm Lyndon Blake and this is finding Nancy Guthrie. A Daily Wire True crime investigation. It is Wednesday, February 11, day 11 in the search for Nancy Guthrie. A busy day searching around Nancy's property in the Catalina foothills just north of Tucson, Arizona. And guys, there was another clue that could potentially be big in this search for the 84 year old grandmother of Savannah Guthrie. Investigators found a black glove on the roadside about a mile and a half from Nancy's home. And this is big because let's, let's remember what did the video footage that we viewed yesterday show us? It showed an armed masked man with black gloves on. And you could clearly see the gloves in the video. And now it is day 11. So time has passed. But this is big because you now have this black glove that investigators now have in their possession that they're going to be able to potentially find some DNA on and it could potentially match to something at the crime scene which is Nancy Guthrie's home. Could be nothing. Could be, could be someone's random glove that is on the side of the road because again, it has been 11 days. Huge piece of information, potential evidence located on the side of the road. And hopefully we'll get some more answers about that. But this all happened because you had investigators and local authorities. They were all out there just canvassing, grid, searching. An extensive search is what they called it. The FBI called it an extensive search search around Nancy guthrie's property. Now, we kind of saw the same thing happen Tuesday at Annie's house, where FBI is going door to door and asking questions and looking around, and we don't know exactly what for, but that very intense search that we saw in Annie's neighborhood, Not just her house, her entire neighborhood. They were going up behind the brush, all over, up and down the road. We saw that today at Nancy guthrie's home. But why keep returning to the same spot? So on Wednesday, not a big, you know, crazy search in Annie Guthrie's neighborhood, But there were two agents there spotted with gloves on the blue latex looking. Gloves that brought out a bag of something. We don't know what it was. They could easily be going there to get. You know, the family's not there going there to get something for the family. Um, so we don't.

[Carlos (Delivery Driver)]

We're.

[Narrator/Host]

We're not here to say they were bringing out all this evidence or anything like that. But, you know, anyone can see if you're following this case. There's been repeated returns to Annie Guthrie's neighborhood, which was not the origin of this crime. So since this doorbell camera footage has been released from Nancy guthrie's front door, I mean, again, I just think this is a treasure chest of information, because there was so much video, so much movement, nonchalantness, really, from this person at the doorbell camera, where you can pick up on so many things. Well, since that footage went out from the FBI, Pima County Sheriff said they received 4,000 tips since that footage went out. And that was just midday today. Probably gone up since then. So on Tuesday night, they got a tip about someone in Rio rico, arizona, south of Tucson, 12 miles from the mexico border. This guy was a person that was detained for questioning Tuesday night that we told you about. He was later released, and his name's Carlos. And he spoke to media after he was released from questioning.

[Lyndon Blake]

Are you ever up in tucson?

[Carlos (Delivery Driver)]

Yeah, I work in tucson.

[Narrator/Host]

What do you do, Gls?

[Carlos (Delivery Driver)]

Deliver packages.

[Narrator/Host]

Okay.

[Lyndon Blake]

Do you think you might have delivered a package to Nancy guthrie's house?

[Narrator/Host]

I don't know. Might have been a possibility.

[Christopher Flanagan]

I don't know.

[Narrator/Host]

And he kept saying, carlos is who I'm talking about. That investigators said that his eyes looked like the person in the doorbell camera video. You know, you have the ski mask on. You can see the person's eyes. But FBI did tell FOX that Carlos wasn't just pinpointed solely off this new surveillance footage that was released, that he was being questioned off other things. But again, right now, Carlos was released, not involved. So we've gotta turn back to the guy in this doorbell cam video. That is just fascinating. And again, that's why it's just. It keeps being analyzed over and over. Cause there's so much stuff you can take from it. We know that there's this backpack, an Ozark trail backpack, you know what I'm talking about? They sell it at Walmart, and. And there's some on Walmart's website with the same reflective straps that you see in the doorbell camera video. So this is what people are looking at right now. FBI, everyone, investigators, they're seeing, where can we find this backpack that looks similar to the video? Where can we find this gun that's in the video? Where can we find these shoes that's in the video. And you start going and pulling purchase history and just seeing who has bought these items in and around the Tucson area. And the gloves, that's one of the very visible things in that video that you can be like, who has gloves that look like this? And that's why it's such a big deal that investigators were able to find that black glove on the side of the road.

[Carlos (Delivery Driver)]

He said, of course, this would be a very, very big break. That said, that said, the idea that they've only found one glove, it's pretty far from the scene. And the fact that somebody who was very clearly extremely cautious, he was robed up foot to head to make sure. In fact, I think he had two hoods on just to make sure he didn't leave any DNA. He throws one glove out the window as he leaves the scene. It's a little bit much to believe at this point, but perps do crazy things that are inexplicable. And this would be a big, big break. And I'm sure it is related to that search.

[Narrator/Host]

I want to mention this. This is fascinating to me. We have this video, and I'm just gonna give him credit. It's very smart. It's Megyn Kelly's producer. He went and kind of reenacted taking off a nest cam and realized after he disconnected the nest cam from the bracket, it was still recording. So there's a chance that there's more video after the doorbell camera was disconnected. I stand firm. I think eventually we're going to get more video released by the FBI if this person is not identified soon based off this video, we know there was multiple cameras. A lot of people, a lot of people that have been covering crime for years though, still do not think what we're looking at here, even with the ransom notes that have never demanded proof of life, is an actual kidnapping. So I want to make this clear. Cause even I. I mean, you. We intertwine kidnapping, abduction, like tomato, tomahto, but they're different things. A kidnapping is. You're taking the person and you're. You're taking that person with a goal of getting something else. In an abduction, the person is the prize, so to speak. But experts are saying that have done this for decades, are saying this is not an actual kidnapping. And Christopher Flanagan, who we talked to, former head of NYPD Financial Crimes Task Force, he worked in Manhattan, he worked in New York for such a long time. And he told us kidnappings are very hard to pull off. They are rare. And random kidnappings, even more rare.

[Christopher Flanagan]

You know, when I was doing kidnappings with the Major Case Squad, you know, it was before bitcoin. So if you. If you know, it kind of made things easier. Kidnappings, first of all, are so like a stranger kidnapping is so rare in this country. More common in south and Central America. But like, we had a very serious kidnapping where our victim was held for 32 days back in 2013. But in New York City, the last kidnapping, where it was like a stranger kidnapping kind of off the street, had happened in 1993. So from 1993 to 2013, in a city of 8 million people, we had no kidnappings. Like this one seems to be like a stranger kidnapping of like a non criminal victim.

[Narrator/Host]

So you have this kidnapping and kidnapping for ransom, but these ransom notes just. There's no proof of life. And they just keep getting bizarre. Even today, TMZ getting this other email, not from the alleged kidnapper, but from someone that's saying, hey, pay me a single bitcoin, which is about $66,000 right now. You know, it fluctuates, which is close, though, to the reward amount for any information on Nancy Guthrie at 50,000. Give me this single bitcoin and I'll tell you where the kidnapper is. I mean, it's just bizarre. It just keeps getting weirder. Once again, TMZ who got this note, said that the bitcoin address in this new note was legit. So we have these bitcoin addresses that are legit, but again, no proof of life and no communication that we know of from the family with anyone who is sending these notes. There's been activity that we reported in the bitcoin accounts. And there's been some amounts revealed, some amounts not revealed. And Christopher Flanagan gave us some more insight on that. After working for decades in financial crime.

[Christopher Flanagan]

When I was in financial crimes, we actually set up like a bitcoin unit. And bitcoin is very trackable. What's more difficult with bitcoin is de anonymizing it. Tracking bitcoin from one wallet to another, seeing where it went, that's all easily, somewhat easily done. The weakness for staying anonymous using bitcoin is transferring it to essentially monetizing it to get it out of the bitcoin world and into cash, essentially.

[Narrator/Host]

So Harvey Levin, the founder of tmz who saw the new note Wednesday, was really peppered with questions about the activity of the original bitcoin account in the first ransom notes. And he really stuck to his guns and didn't reveal anything. And when you listen to what he says, I mean, it's almost like there's nothing you can say that'll make him reveal this because he truly believes that this information is so crucial to the investigation.

[Lyndon Blake]

I have never said an amount and there is a reason I haven't said an amount and I am going to stick to that regardless of what anybody else has said. There are reasons behind why I'm saying that I gave my word on something and I don't want to impede this in any way. And I'm going to stick to what I said, which is simply that there was activity. And I'm not going to say more about what the activity is.

[Christopher Flanagan]

I respect that.

[Narrator/Host]

This is just such a bizarre crime. Another just mysterious wrinkle in this entire case. And because of the lack of proof of life and just the lack of legitimacy that's been able to be confirmed around these ransom notes leads a lot of experts to believe that whatever happened to Nancy Guthrie was not an actual kidnapping. And something we're gonna continue to look into are these rare kidnappings of old people. I mean, I can think of right now Cal Ripken, his mom back in 2012, 74 years old, she was actually kidnapped. It was bizarre. But we'll get into that later. Back to the search of Nancy Guthrie. Still active scene right now on the ground around Nancy Guthrie's home, looking for anything of value in the search for this 84 year old grandma. I'll leave you again with the tip line. This is for any tips. This goes to the FBI. It is 1-800-call-FBI. I still feel that we're gonna find whoever the person is in this doorbell cam footage soon. I'm Lyndon Blake, and this is Finding Nancy Guthrie. A Daily Wire true crime investigation.