Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of ‘Today’ host Savannah Guthrie, was last seen around 9:45 p.m. on January 31. Authorities say her disappearance appears to be a kidnapping or abduction.
She lived in the Catalina Foothills neighborhood of Tucson, Arizona. On Thursday, law enforcement went door-to-door in the area, asking neighbors whether they noticed any disruptions to their internet service on the night she went missing, according to NBC News.
Several homeowners told NBC News that agents specifically asked about internet or camera glitches that night.
One couple who lives next to Nancy Guthrie reported that one of their Ring cameras, the one closest to her home, showed a “not available” message when they tried to review footage from the overnight hours. Their other cameras, farther from her house, worked normally.
They said they had never seen this warning before and found it “uncanny” that it happened precisely during the timeframe of Guthrie’s disappearance.
“That’s really weird, isn’t it?” they said
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Wi-Fi jamming device used?
The incident has prompted speculation about the possible use of a Wi-Fi jamming device, which is illegal to sell or import in the US.
Earlier this week, when asked if he believes the suspect might have carried a Wi-Fi jammer, possibly in his pocket, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told NBC News, “I’ve not looked at that closely, but yeah, I know that my team has looked at it with the FBI every angle.”
According to investigative reporter Michael Ruiz, such devices have reportedly been used by South American burglary rings in recent months to disable wireless cameras and alarm systems in affluent US neighborhoods. Hardwired security systems are not affected by these jammers.