Retired FBI agent explains why investigators release video in cases like Nancy Guthrie’s

PHOENIX – A retired FBI agent said investigators have a reason when they release video clips like the newly uncovered footage from the Nancy Guthrie case.

“In the law enforcement world, they call it tickling the wire, and that’s when they want to put something out there that’s going to generate leads, and that was the reason for that video,” Steve Hooper, an assistant professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, authorities investigating the disappearance of Guthrie released photos and video of a masked person that were recovered from the “backend systems” of the surveillance camera in front of her Tucson home.

The 84-year-old mother of “Today” anchor Savannah Guthrie hasn’t been seen since the night of Jan. 31. Investigators believe she was taken from her home against her will that night or the next morning.

Did video lead to man being questioned in Nancy Guthrie case?

Hooper said investigators knew the video would get a big response from the public.

“They knew that hundreds, if not thousands, of people would reach out to them and say, ‘Hey, that looks like my cousin’ or ‘That looks like my brother.’” he said.

In fact, Hooper thinks the video may have generated information leading to a major development on Tuesday night, when authorities detained a person in southern Arizona. A man from Rio Rico who identified himself as “Carlos” told reporters he was stopped and questioned about the case before he was released. He denied involvement in the kidnapping.

“Did they get a phone call saying that the eyes look like my cousin, whoever Carlos was? Yeah, they probably did,” Hooper said. “But it’s just one of dozens, if not hundreds, of leads that came in based on that video. Why did they go look at him? Because they’re going to look at everybody that kind of narrows the focus.”

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