Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, is believed to have been abducted from her home in Tucson, Arizona, on Feb. 1, according to authorities. Nancy Guthrie has limited mobility, a pacemaker and relies on daily medication for a heart condition. The vulnerability that comes with living alone impacts the safety of older people.
At 1:47 a.m. Feb. 1, Nancy Guthrie’s doorbell camera, a Google Nest, disconnected, according to police. At 2:12 a.m., the doorbell software detected a person on the camera, who authorities said was masked and armed. Unfortunately, investigators couldn’t retrieve the footage initially because Nancy Guthrie didn’t have a subscription to store the doorbell feed, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said.
Luckily, authorities had help from “private sector partners” who recovered doorbell footage from “residual data located in backend systems,” FBI director Kash Patel said on X.
The measures the FBI took to obtain the lost doorbell footage are out of the ordinary. While the FBI has means far beyond the average person’s, it’s groundbreaking they were able to recover such vital footage and provide an enormous amount of information that pushed the case forward.
Former criminal investigators say it’s almost certain authorities began to build a physical and psychological profile of the suspect using the footage, according to The Associated Press.
The recovery of Nancy Guthrie’s doorbell camera footage proves it should be essential for older people to have security camera systems, providing essential safety and tracking of daily activities, as well as providing peace of mind to family members.
Jamie Siminoff, the chief inventor and founder of Ring doorbell cameras, said video evidence from doorbell cameras has become a crucial piece to investigations.
“I just think we’re seeing that video footage is the most important thing in solving these crimes,” Siminoff said.
It’s been proven that video surveillance footage was very successful in locating the Brown University shooting suspect.
A study by the National Library of Medicine found that ambient assisted living, a system used for healthcare monitoring consisting of smart devices, medical sensors, wireless networks and software applications, can be used to cure diseases, improve health and prevent difficulties for older adults.
The study found AAL to increase safety for older people using mobile emergency alert systems, fall detection systems and video surveillance systems. One of the technologies included in the study was “mobile and wearable sensors.”
Nancy Guthrie’s pacemaker, a device typically implanted under the skin to regulate heartbeat, disconnected from its monitoring app on her phone the night she went missing before 2:30 a.m.
Investigators found the disconnect of her pacemaker to be out of the ordinary, helping hone in on the time of her disappearance in correlation to the time of her doorbell camera disconnecting.
Nancy Guthrie’s abduction should deeply startle and serve as a wake-up call, not to scare older people and their families, but to bring awareness to the risks older people have living alone. Technological advancements, such as medical devices and video surveillance, can enhance safety through real-time monitoring of routines and emergencies.
The Catalina Foothills community, where Nancy Guthrie lives, has “been on the edge for nearly two weeks,” according to NBC News.
“My mom lives here in town. She lives alone — now I’m worried as heck about her,” an Arizona neighbor, Nicollete Daly, said. “I’m scared to be alone.”
However, a constant surveillance state can foster negative impacts by eroding and eliminating the expectation of privacy in private spaces, like a home. Constant monitoring can cause high stress, paranoia and a climate of suspicion, according to the Oxford Academic.
Surveillance within private living spaces should always be consented to.
Senior Watch Programs are utilized in communities and are often run by local police or sheriff’s departments, providing free safety check-ins, well-being visits and emergency alerts for older people living alone.
In Athens County, the United Seniors of Athens County serves to provide “essential programs and services for older adults in our community.”
Outside News 4 Tucson is a banner reading, “Bring her home.” A testimony from Tucson to rally around one another for Nancy Guthrie, the community has shown up in support of her children and her family.
For older people living alone, it’s not about taking away the freedom of living independently; it’s about raising awareness by initiating safety precautions for physical and emotional well-being.
The Post editorials are independent of the publication's news coverage. Have thoughts? The Post can be reached via editor@thepostathens.com.
