Ex-FBI Agent Reveals Why It's Difficult To Find Vehicle Linked To Savannah Guthrie's Mom's Kidnapping

As the search for Nancy Guthrie enters its second week, investigators are looking into how the secluded layout of her Tucson neighborhood may have aided her suspected abductor.

Newly released doorbell footage shows a masked individual outside her home the morning she vanished, while authorities continue analyzing surveillance gaps in the Catalina Foothills area.

A former FBI agent suggests that the community's winding roads, limited lighting, and minimal security infrastructure may have made it easier for someone to evade detection.

According to retired FBI agent James Gagliano, the secluded layout of Nancy Guthrie's Tucson neighborhood may have helped her suspected abductor avoid detection.

As the search for the 84-year-old mother of "Today" co-host Savannah Guthrie stretches into its 11th day, authorities released video Tuesday showing a man approaching her front door. However, officials have not identified any vehicle linked to the suspect.

Speaking on "Fox & Friends," Gagliano compared the Catalina Foothills community to the opposite of a tightly organized city grid.

He said, "I want you to think about Manhattan. This is exactly the opposite to that. This is almost like a Jackson Pollock painting … 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," Gagliano continued, per the New York Post. "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."

According to Gagliano, a suspect leaving by car could potentially bypass license plate readers depending on the chosen route.

While he considers it unlikely that an abductor would operate entirely on foot, he pointed out that the neighborhood's open layout could also facilitate discreet movement. Many properties are not separated by fences, and backyards flow into one another, making it possible to move between homes without drawing attention.

Gagliano also described being surprised by how dark and remote the area felt when he visited the scene.

"What I was immediately struck by was this — the darkness," he said. "Even with a full moon, the light pollution out here is negligible. There's none. It is so dark."

"And the type of cacti, the flora and fauna that are native here in Arizona, for somebody to be able to sneak up in the dark not to be seen or to bring a car in with no lights on the road right behind my shoulder," he added.

The former FBI noted, "This really took my breath away about how difficult this is going to be, and it made a lot more sense to me why somebody that night might not have seen anything."

The Catalina Foothills community, home to roughly 50,000 residents, is considered safe, which may explain the limited lighting and security infrastructure.

Despite the investigative challenges, Gagliano expressed confidence that the case will ultimately be solved, noting that modern forensic tools make it difficult for crimes to go unresolved.

"The good guys always win here. There are no perfect crimes," he noted.

The former agent continued, "This isn't the era of Jack the Ripper, where you don't have any of the forensics and any of the police sciences."

Meanwhile, authorities briefly detained a man during a traffic stop in Rio Rico, about an hour south of Tucson, as part of the investigation.

The individual, who identified himself as Carlos Palazuelos, later told reporters he was questioned for several hours and released. He denied any involvement and said he had not been aware of the case.

The Pima County Sheriff's Department confirmed that deputies detained a person of interest and conducted a court-authorized search in Rio Rico in coordination with the FBI.

Officials have not released further details about the search, and no press conference has been scheduled. Investigators continue to pursue leads as the search for Nancy remains ongoing.

The latest developments came after the FBI released newly recovered images and a 44-second video from Nancy's doorbell camera.

The footage, previously described as inaccessible, shows a masked individual lingering outside her Catalina Foothills home on the morning she disappeared.

The black-and-white images capture a person wearing a ski mask, gloves, and a backpack approaching the front entrance.

In one frame, the individual appears to wave an object resembling a plant. Another image shows the person interfering with and seemingly attempting to disable the Nest doorbell camera.