Nancy Guthrie case: Ring's 'Neighbors' app becomes tool in search for missing 84-year-old, expert says

A cybersecurity adept said that the Ring ‘Neighbors’ app could beryllium a invaluable instrumentality for investigators arsenic they proceed searching for missing Nancy Guthrie.

Someone surviving successful Nancy Guthrie's vicinity told Fox News she received an alert from her Ring Neighbors app connected February 11 that went to a station stating that investigators were requesting video surveillance footage from 2 abstracted timeframes, which see January 11 betwixt 9:00 p.m. and midnight, arsenic good arsenic January 31 betwixt 9:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. The alert claimed that a "suspicious vehicle" was spotted successful the country astir 10 a.m. connected January 1.

Investigators proceed to hunt for Nancy Guthrie arsenic she has been missing for implicit 2 weeks. 

Guthrie was forcibly taken from her Tucson, Arizona, location successful the aboriginal greeting hours of Feb. 1 and didn't permission connected her own, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos antecedently said.

The Pima County Sheriff's Office told Fox News that the alert connected the Ring Neighbors app didn't travel from them, but was made by a nonmigratory who lives successful Nancy Guthrie's area.

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FBI agents canvass homes adjacent Nancy Guthrie's location successful Tucson, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. Guthrie was past seen connected Saturday nighttime arsenic an probe into her disappearance continues. (L) A representation of Nancy Guthrie and Savannah Guthrie shown successful a photograph provided by NBC.  (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital; Courtesy of NBC)

"Please cheque your recordings earlier they are overwritten; footage of conveyance postulation is peculiarly helpful. When submitting, delight see your code on with the circumstantial day and clip of the video. Hopefully, we tin portion this together," the idiosyncratic wrote successful the Neighbors app post.

While the Neighbors app station wasn't made by the Pima County Sheriff's Office, the bureau made their ain station connected the mobile exertion asking for immoderate video footage that includes thing deemed "out of the ordinary" from January 1 to February 2.

What is the Ring Neighbors app?

Eric O'Neill, a cybersecurity adept and erstwhile FBI operative, told Fox News Digital that the Ring Neighbors app allows radical wrong a vicinity to stock accusation with each other. For example, O'Neill, who uses the app, said radical volition often stock accusation astir a transgression that happened successful his neighborhood.

"What radical bash often is stock accusation astir a transgression that happened. Sometimes they volition seizure idiosyncratic trying to interruption into their car. Or God forbid their home, and they volition people the footage arsenic a informing to neighbors," O'Neill said. "It is simply a mode for neighbors successful a vicinity to collaborate connected security."

According to Ring, the Neighbors app uses an individual's location, and they volition person immoderate alerts sent by neighbors oregon authorities sources, specified arsenic instrumentality enforcement.

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A instrumentality enforcement cause checks vegetation areas astir Nancy Guthrie's location successful Tucson, Ariz., connected Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (Ty ONeil/AP Photo)

"if you stock an alert connected the app astir a transgression oregon information contented successful your radius, your neighbors volition besides get a notification connected their phones and tablets. You tin past remark connected these alerts to supply further accusation astir section issues, springiness tips to debar affected areas, stock photos oregon videos to assistance neighbors enactment connected the lookout, etc," the Ring website states.

How was the Ring Neighbors app utilized successful assisting with the Nancy Guthrie investigation?

After idiosyncratic surviving successful Nancy Guthrie's country shared a Neighbors alert asking for radical to taxable video footage from circumstantial timeframes, the Pima County Sheriff's Department made a station of their ain connected the application. 

Sources told Fox News Digital that the FBI was canvassing Nancy Guthrie's country and asked for information video footage from Jan. 11 betwixt 9 p.m. and midnight. The FBI didn't respond to a petition for comment, and it's unclear wherefore investigators are funny successful the circumstantial timeframe.

"If you are receiving this alert, the Pima County Sheriff's Department is urgently requesting your assistance successful locating Nancy Guthrie, 84, who was past seen connected the evening of January 31, 2026, astatine her residence adjacent East Skyline Drive and North Campbell Avenue," the sheriff's section wrote. "We are requesting each video footage that includes vehicles, conveyance traffic, people/ pedestrians, and thing you deem retired of the mean oregon important to our probe from January 1st, 2026, done February 2nd, 2026."

The sheriff's section included a nexus connected the Neighbors app station wherever residents successful Nancy Guthrie's country tin taxable video that whitethorn beryllium applicable to the investigation.

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Photos released connected Feb. 10, 2025, amusement a "subject" connected Nancy Guthrie's property.  (Provided by FBI)

A spokesperson for Ring told Fox News Digital that the exertion has a Community Requests diagnostic that allows instrumentality enforcement agencies "to publically station requests for videos from Ring camera owners wrong a designated country to enactment a circumstantial investigation."

"The extremity is to supply Ring camera owners with a mode to assistance their assemblage erstwhile thing happens successful their neighborhood, furthering Ring’s ngo of making neighborhoods safer," the spokesperson said.

 How tin the Ring Neighbors app beryllium utilized to lick crimes?

O'Neill said that instrumentality enforcement tin usage the Ring Neighbors app successful respective ways to assistance lick crimes.

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Members of the property enactment extracurricular the location of Nancy Guthrie, the missing parent of "Today" amusement big Savannah Guthrie, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, successful Tucson, Ariz.  (AP Photo/Caitlin O'Hara)

"One, determination could beryllium a connection that instrumentality enforcement has Ring nonstop retired connected their behalf onto the app that here, similar successful the Nancy Guthrie case, provides a link," helium said. "Ring tin besides petition footage from radical successful the neighborhood, collate that accusation straight successful Ring's cloud, and past manus that implicit to instrumentality enforcement oregon springiness instrumentality enforcement access."

"I fishy here, some things are happening," O'Neill said. 

Fox News' Sarah Alegre contributed to this report.