The investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie is now more than a month old. The 84-year-old was taken from her home in Tucson, Arizona almost five weeks ago and police are still no closer to tracking down the suspect or locating Nancy.
So far, the case has seen little in the way of breakthroughs, with few clues pointing to the whereabouts of Savannah Guthrie’s mother. But as law enforcement continue their investigation, they have seemingly begun to expand lines of inquiry to include new potential pieces of evidence. Most recently, this has included the possibility of the suspect using a Wi-Fi jammer to disrupt internet connections.
However, several experts have now suggested that this latest development will likely not be significant to the investigation.
Experts Suggest Wi-Fi Jammer Theory Will Have Little Impact on Nancy Guthrie Investigation
GettyEarlier this week, agents from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation visited several homes in the Tucson area near Nancy’s home. According to sources, this was done to ask residents about their internet service on the night that the victim was abducted.
One resident subsequently told reporters that footage from his Ring doorbell was missing during that time, sparking theories that the suspect may have been using some sort of Wi-Fi jammer to help hide his actions. Morgan Wright, of the National Center for Open and Unsolved Cases, doesn’t think a Wi-Fi jammer will have been used in the kidnapping.
“If they were using Wi-Fi jammers, then I would expect that we would not be able to see any video from the front door cameras,” Wright told Fox News.
“As you get closer with the jammer, the signal starts getting interfered with,” he revealed. “The closer you get to the source of the signal emanation, which is the router with the Wi-Fi access point, then you might get a total blackout.”
Referring to the residents who claimed to have had an issue with their footage, Wright said, “If they say, ‘Well, I had an internet outage,’ it’s got nothing to do with an RF jammer. That RF jammer would have to be high-powered, military-style stuff to affect a neighbor.”
The Suspect’s Profile Does Not Match Someone Who Would Use a Wi-Fi Jammer
GettyMeanwhile, retired police detective and current executive at the Colorado Attorney General’s Office Lisa Miller, has explained that it is unlikely that the suspect was using a Wi-FI jammer or similar technology, given the evidence that has been made public.
“The video of the porch monster released by the FBI, didn’t appear glitchy. At all,” Miller said.
She also provided a possible explanation for the small antenna that some people believe they can see in the footage released of the suspect.
She said, “Even police car laptops have glitched during traffic stops of someone with a jammer. I think it more likely, if that spot people think is an antenna in his pocket…or if he had any device, it would be a small handheld radio. I think it’s smarter to use that than a burner phone. The criminals know what the FBI CAST team can do.”
National Police Association spokesperson and former sergeant Besty Brantner Smith also feels like the suspect doesn’t fit the profile of someone who would use such a sophisticated piece of technology.
“If they were forward-thinking enough to purchase and use one of those jammers, I think they would have done better than what we saw at the front door,” said Smith. “It is definitely a possibility, but that would require so much advanced thought and action. That brings us back to someone who knew her and very specifically targeted her.”
