The maze of unlit streets and lack of traffic cameras in Nancy Guthrie’s remote Arizona neighborhood would have made it easier for her abductor to take her away in a car and avoid surveillance, a former FBI agent has claimed.
Authorities on Tuesday released footage showing a suspect approaching the door of the 84-year-old’s Tucson, Arizona, home, but no vehicle has yet been identified as belonging to the alleged kidnapper.
Nancy’s remote, pitch-black Catalina Foothills neighborhood is not doing investigators any favors, according to retired FBI agent James Gagliano, who said that it would have been easy for the suspect to navigate backstreets and avoid cameras.
“I want you to think about Manhattan. This is exactly the opposite to that. This is almost like a Jackson Pollock painting,” Gagliano told Fox & Friends on Wednesday. “The way that the routes go in and out, the ingress could have been one way, and the egress could have been a different way.”
“There are multiple exits here. Some of them are covered by those dome traffic lights that keep an eye on traffic, determine whether or not the signals are working on time, and keep in line the traffic patterns. Some of them aren’t,” he continued.
“So is it possible if the suspect left via vehicle, he would not have been picked up by a license plate reader or one of these cameras? The answer is yes.”
Gagliano said it is unlikely that Nancy’s kidnapper came and left on foot.
While the abductor making off with an elderly woman without a vehicle seems far-fetched, Gagliano pointed out that there are few fences between properties, which would make an escape via the secluded backyards possible.
“They don’t have fences out here; the properties butt up against each other, there’s no cyclone fencing or anything restricting access between the properties,” he said.
Gagliano was speaking after authorities detained an individual for questioning on Tuesday evening following a traffic stop in Rio Rico, Arizona, just south of Tucson.
The man, a FedEx delivery driver named Carlos Palazuelos, added that his house in Rio Rico was also searched as part of the investigation before he was released without charge.
As of Wednesday, no other individuals have been detained in connection with the disappearance of Nancy, who was last seen after being dropped off at her Catalina Foothills home on the evening of Jan. 31.
Savannah put out another message on social media Tuesday, saying she and her family still believe her mother is alive.
“We believe she is still out there. Bring her home,” she said.