Nancy Guthrie suspect's digital ‘blackout’ may be key to case, says expert who probed Kohberger phone

TUCSON, Ariz. — Whoever abducted Nancy Guthrie whitethorn person near down important integer grounds — adjacent if they thought they covered their tracks, according to a forensics adept who helped lick the Idaho pupil murders.

Authorities person released fewer details astir immoderate grounds speech from DNA samples collected truthful far, but Heather Barnhart, a integer forensics adept with Cellebrite and the SANS Institute, said compartment operation data, Wi-Fi logs and different integer breadcrumbs could beryllium critical.

"The loudest grounds tin beryllium the deficiency of evidence," she told Fox News Digital.

Barnhart, who analyzed the telephone and machine of Bryan Kohberger, told Fox News Digital that criminals often underestimate however hard it is to genuinely vanish successful a satellite saturated with connected technology.

Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her Tucson location successful the aboriginal greeting hours of Feb. 1, with investigators treating the lawsuit arsenic an evident abduction.   (Fox Flight Team; Courtesy of NBC)

With DNA leads pointing to dormant ends truthful far, it whitethorn beryllium integer grounds that moves the lawsuit forward.

She pointed to the convicted Idaho slayer Kohberger arsenic an example.

"Kohberger virtually created bookends astir the transgression by turning disconnected his device," she said. "So successful summation to each the clearing and different things that helium prepped for to erase his integer footprint, the information that close earlier the murder, his telephone was turned off, and past wrong similar 40 minutes oregon truthful aft it was turned backmost on, benignant of gave america that passageway to look down here."

ELITE FBI VIDEO UNIT THAT WORKED KOHBERGER CASE SPOTTED AT NANCY GUTHRIE HOME

Law enforcement agents cheque vegetation areas astir Nancy Guthrie’s location successful Tucson, Ariz., Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (Ty O'Neil/AP Photo)

Investigators person said small astir what benignant of integer grounds they've recovered truthful acold successful the case. The suspect, who whitethorn oregon whitethorn not person acted alone, took measures to fell his fingerprints and DNA.

He wore a skis mask, gloves, and long-sleeved covering and seems to person avoided shedding immoderate traceable familial worldly wrong Guthrie's home.

So it whitethorn beryllium that, similar Kohberger, helium and immoderate imaginable accomplices covered their integer tracks by turning disconnected their phones oregon placing them successful airplane mode.

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This representation released by the FBI shows an equipped idiosyncratic appearing to person tampered with the camera astatine Nancy Guthrie's beforehand doorway the greeting of her disappearance successful Tucson, Arizona, Sunday, February 1, 2026. (L) An undated photograph of Nancy Guthrie provided by NBC successful effect to the disappearance of the 84-year-old parent of Today Show host, Savannah Guthrie. (Provided by FBI; Courtesy of NBC)

If that's the case, investigators tin look astatine behaviour patterns successful the country and effort to find an aberration, Barnhart said. And if they do, that could beryllium the item that cracks the case.

"If the idiosyncratic prepped, they wouldn't ping that tower, but if they went up of clip and scoped it retired oregon planned, they would have," Barnhart said. "And past you tin besides look for introduction and exit. And past proximity pings, due to the fact that yet you're going to crook your telephone backmost on."

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Law enforcement agents locomotion astir the vicinity wherever Annie Guthrie, whose parent Nancy Guthrie has been missing for much than a week, lives conscionable extracurricular Tucson, Ariz. (Ty O'Neil/AP Photo)

Even a impermanent blackout tin basal out, she said, particularly successful a quiescent residential vicinity successful the aboriginal greeting hours erstwhile astir devices would typically stay successful 1 place, with their owners asleep.

And if the abductor did bring their telephone but enactment it connected airplane mode, immoderate of their movements whitethorn inactive beryllium traceable, she said. She discovered this portion moving the Kohberger case, erstwhile she crossed timezones and her device, connected airplane mode the full time, pinged successful a caller location.

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Law enforcement agents cheque vegetation areas astir Nancy Guthrie’s location successful Tucson, Ariz., Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (Ty O'Neil/AP Photo)

Investigators whitethorn besides person examined whether a suspect’s telephone "touched" Guthrie’s location Wi-Fi web — adjacent without connecting to it — perchance placing the instrumentality astatine the scene.

And postulation cameras are different instrumentality disposable to investigators, she said. It remains unclear whether authorities recovered adjuvant footage from them. There are galore disposable passim the county.

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A Pima County Sheriff's lawman is progressive successful a instrumentality enforcement cognition astatine the intersection of Camino de Michael and East Orange Grove Road successful Tucson, Arizona connected Friday, February 13, 2026. The determination is astir 2 miles from Nancy Guthrie's home. (DWS for Fox News Digital)

Guthrie is the 84-year-old parent of "Today" co-host Savannah Guthrie. She is believed to person been taken from her location against her volition astir 2:30 a.m. connected Feb. 1, according to the Pima County Sheriff's Department.

Barnhart said that successful the Idaho case, telephone logs showed the shutdown was user-initiated and the instrumentality was afloat charged earlier going acheronian — details that helped investigators find it was deliberate.

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"With Bryan Kohberger, helium disabled cellular, disabled Wi-Fi and turned disconnected his phone," Barnhart said. "That is utmost measures to not person a integer footprint. So helium truly took each the steps but inactive made a mistake… We anticipation successful Nancy Guthrie, that whoever has her made a mistake and that we tin uncover that footprint."

Savannah Guthrie has asked anyone with accusation connected her mother's suspected abduction to scope the FBI astatine 1-800-CALL-FBI.

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