President Donald Trump suggested on Friday evening that authorities may be closing in on a suspect in connection with Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance.
The president told reporters on Air Force One that a “solution” could be coming in the case, roughly one week after Today show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother mysteriously went missing from her Arizona home. Trump said the Justice Department or FBI could be providing key updates on the apparent abduction “reasonably soon,” seven days into a closely watched search for the 84-year-old woman.
“I’m not talking about a search. I’m talking about a solution. We have some things, I think, that will maybe come out reasonably soon from DOJ or FBI, or whoever that could be. A lot has taken place in the last couple of hours. A lot of things have happened with regard to that horrible situation in the last couple of hours,” the president said.
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When pressed if he was referring to a suspect, the president replied, “Yeah, could be definitive,” adding that investigators are following some “very strong” clues. Authorities have not yet identified any suspects or persons of interest in the case.
“I think we could have some answers coming up fairly soon,” Trump said.
The president’s comments follow a development in the case that occurred earlier on Friday, when KOLD reported receiving another apparent ransom note, which could be tied to ransom messages sent to that media outlet and two others earlier this week, which investigators are continuing to probe.
The IP address used to send Friday’s email message was not the same as the one used on the previous media ransom note, but it appears the sender used the same type of secure server to try to hide their location and identity. The previous three ransom messages to the media appeared to be the same, Heith Janke, the FBI chief in Phoenix, said in a press briefing earlier this week. They included a demand for money with an initial Thursday evening deadline and a second deadline for Monday if the first one wasn’t met.
“The FBI and Pima County Sheriff’s Department are aware of a new message regarding Nancy Guthrie. Investigators are actively inspecting the information provided in the message for its authenticity,” the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, which is leading the investigation alongside the FBI, said in a statement responding to the latest alleged ransom note.
A separate ransom note has been confirmed to be fake, leading authorities to arrest the accused impostor, a California man identified as Derrick Callella. After responding to the latest alleged ransom note, Authorities announced Friday evening they were combing through Guthrie’s home and surrounding areas once again. A forensics truck was spotted at the residence, and a tow truck was also observed towing a blue vehicle away from the property. Experts believe it’s an indicator that authorities are closing in on a suspect.
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“I think the FBI and its partners are zeroing in and that the noose is getting tighter and tighter. I think every time you see law enforcement go back to the house, they have in some capacity, additional digital footprints that require them to go back and corroborate or to dismiss or dispel or to confirm,” Former FBI special agent Stuart Kaplan told Fox & Friends Weekend on Saturday.
“And I see this latest event of taking this car, may be one of those confirmations. It may be that this car may have been shared with someone else,” Kaplan continued.
