Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Event/Special

FBI Conducts "Extensive Search" of Nancy Guthrie's Neighborhood. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired February 11, 2026 - 23:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[23:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN (voice-over): New developments in the search for Nancy Guthrie.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Police find a black glove not far from her home.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): The FBI conducts extensive searches in several areas.

CARLOS PALAZUELOS, DETAINED AND RELEASED BY FBI IN CONNECTION WITH THE DISAPPEARANCE OF NANCY GUTHRIE: I hope they get the suspect.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): The person questioned in the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie is released.

PALAZUELOS: I'm not it.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Nearly 18,000 tips since the day Guthrie was reported missing.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): He has gone into probably hiding mode or fleeing mode.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): This was someone that was prepared to address whatever issues he had to before he entered that house.

UNKNOWN: They said if they want to get the name of the individual --

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Give us a bitcoin through this address.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Crime is more than relevant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAURA COATES, CNN HOST AND SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Good evening. Welcome to a special edition of "Laura Coates Live: The Search for Nancy Guthrie." Could a black glove found on the side of the road hold a clue to what happened 11 days ago? This is it. Reporters from the "New York Post" saw agents pull it out of the desert shrub today during their extensive search of the neighborhood around Guthrie's home.

In this moment, we'll comb through that new evidence and everything else that we have learned today with our reporters and law enforcement experts. And make no mistake, investigators will take a hard look at this because the person captured on the doorbell camera at Guthrie's house the night she was taken, well, was wearing gloves. Is what the FBI found one of the gloves? We don't know yet. The reporter who saw it says he was found about a half a mile away from Guthrie's home.

Now, all day long, investigators were out there. They were scouring the nearby roadways, the desert brush and, of course, the foothills, looking for anything, anything that could move this case forward.

Police are also working through a massive flood of tips, especially since those new videos from the doorbell camera were released. Local law enforcement says they've gotten more than 4,000 calls in just the past 24 hours.

But, obviously, it's a lot to sift through, especially after a man was detained and questioned yesterday during our own live coverage, only to be later released overnight. Well, tonight that man says he wants to clear his name.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PALAZUELOS: All of a sudden, the FBI pulled out the Miranda rights, read me Miranda rights, and that's when I asked, so, I'm being arrested? No, we're just reading your Miranda rights. So, can we ask you some questions? What kind of questions? It's about a kidnapping. What the (bleep). I didn't kidnap no one.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): There had to maybe been something they told you as to how they got to you. How did --

PALAZUELOS: A tip.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): -- they get to the Rio Rico area?

PALAZUELOS: An anonymous tip. That's what they said.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): They thought you looked like that person in the video?

PALAZUELOS: That's what they told my mother-in-law. They showed her a video.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): So, they thought you were the suspect?

PALAZUELOS: Yes, because they said that my eyes and my eyelashes look the same.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): What do you want from --

PALAZUELOS: Clear my name. That's all I want.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COATES: So, we are now on day 11 with no suspect in what continues to be a race against time to find Nancy Guthrie, who is now 11 days without her medication. I'm going to begin with CNN's Nick Watt, who's on the ground in Tucson for us. So, Nick, what can you tell us about this search that unfolded today that uncovered that glove?

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Laura, FBI agents fanned out from here, Nancy Guthrie's home. They were looking along the roadsides, in the gravel, in the (INAUDIBLE), in the vegetation, looking for anything that that suspect that we see in that nest doorbell camera, anything that that person may have discarded or dropped on the way out.

And, of course, now that we've seen that person in the video, they know a little bit more on what they're looking for. They're looking, for example, for a ski mask, for gloves, for any items that this person might have used in order to kidnap Nancy Guthrie, but then might have been pretty keen to get rid of so that he wasn't found with them later.

So, agents, as I say, fanned out, and that is when they found this glove within two miles of Nancy Guthrie's home. Now, we don't know yet if that glove is indeed connected. If it is, it could well provide some very useful information. We don't know.

[23:05:00]

We don't know if it's completely random or if it is connected. But that and the video, those are really the key pieces of evidence that we believe investigators are working with right now. Laura?

COATES: That's but one aspect too, right? Because law enforcement, they are combing through every single frame of that doorbell video for any type of clue. Nick, are they any closer to finding out anything more about that person's attire, the appearance, what's behind that mask?

WATT: Well, if they are, they haven't told us. I mean, Kash Patel, the director of the FBI, said that it's basically a process of elimination for them. They have persons, plural of interest, process of elimination, no names, no more details.

So, from that video, you can obviously see what the person was wearing. You can see the backpack. You can figure out what that brand was. You can try and figure out where that was bought and if there's perhaps video of a person buying that. Also, the mannerisms, the gait, these kinds of things.

The other interesting thing is how this suspect will be behaving now that that video is out there. Will that suspect be more anxious? Might that make that suspect a little easier to detect?

You know, it's fascinating what that guy, Carlos, said, the guy who was detained. You know, he said that there was an anonymous tip that went in because somebody looked at that video and said, hey, those eyes and those eyelashes, I mean, which is pretty much all you can see in the ski mask, they looked like it was Carlos, and that's why he was detained.

So, 4,000 tips in a day. Clearly, that video could be crucial. We don't know yet if they've managed to glean anything that has given them a real break in the case. Laura?

COATES: Nick Watt, thank you. Please stand by for us.

With me now, investigative expert, CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller, former FBI assistant director for the criminal division, criminal investigative division, Chris Swecker, and retired FBI special agent Pete Lapp.

I want to begin with you, John, on that. First of all, FBI agents finding a black glove less than two miles away from her home today. First of all, two miles is not an insignificant amount of terrain to cover, but it is significant that they have found this. How can the authority determine if that's the glove that may have been worn by the suspect that was seen on that doorbell video?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST, FORMER FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Well, they're going to package it up. It's going to be sent to the FBI lab at Quantico. It is likely there already. That's the kind of piece of evidence they would fly there directly on one of their own aircraft.

You know, at Quantico, they're going to go through a series of tests at the FBI laboratory, they're going to do it in a specific order, they're going to look at the outside of the glove for DNA, for latent fingerprints, for any hair or fiber that might have attached to the glove that didn't come from it sitting in the brush, then they're going to look inside the glove for skin cell DNA, sweat DNA, anything that they can trace to the CODIS database that might unearth an actual identity of somebody who has a record or, if not, DNA that they can save in case they get a suspect later to compare it to.

But this is the key: You know and we all know from the film that was taken of those front steps and from the DNA test that was done on the blood on the front steps just outside the door that Nancy Guthrie was bleeding at the time she was abducted, probably from some confrontation in the house. If the same person who handled her with those gloves going in handled her going out, it is also likely that they may find blood on the outside of those gloves or even trace amounts.

But the key is, as Nick Watt pointed out, if he's leaving the scene and you find the glove there, now you have a 50-50 elimination, which is now you have a direction of travel. So, he went that way if the glove matches. And then you push that way because what else are you looking for in the brush? You're looking on the other side of the street, you're looking on that side of the street, you're looking for a ski mask, maybe an empty backpack now, maybe the other glove, and so it goes. If it has nothing to do with it, it was a great effort and a great lead. But if it is connected and scientifically, it's going to be very significant.

COATES: And, as you mentioned, the idea that Nancy Guthrie's DNA could possibly be on it, because if that was used to enter her home or used inside of her home, I mean the home itself, her own home where she'd lived for many years is going to be a treasure trove of DNA that possibly could connect that this glove was at least in her home.

But Chris, let's talk about this escape that would have been used. For the glove to be on the side of the road or in this brush, it would have been discarded. I'm assuming it would not have fallen off or it might tell us somehow about the manner in which they navigated that escape.

[23:09:58]

What clues would you be looking to in terms of that on the ground operation that John has described? How do you then take that pinpoint location and expand beyond?

CHRIS SWECKER, FORMER FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION DIVISION: Well, you would do a grid search, as John pointed out, on both sides of the street and take that out as far as you think you need to. I think more importantly, as John again pointed out, you know that they're headed in that direction, and that's what -- somewhere down that road, there's going to be some video.

We know the neighborhood was not conducive to ring camera, you know, catching the street because of the offset from the street to the front doors of the houses in the neighborhood. So, the commercial businesses are the ones that have the best cameras, and that's where I would be looking, and I'm sure they already have been, but it just gives you a sense of the direction of where that person was headed if, you know, this is, in fact, the glove.

Again, that glove could be a real jackpot if it has both her blood and the DNA of the suspect on it. Now, you've got, you know, a two-fer on that one and you get a double identification. And if we get lucky, of course, it's in the CODIS database, and that would be an actual identification.

But I've been -- I've been saying all along that video is going to play a significant role in this. It already has inside, you know, with the camera in front of the -- in front of the door. But I think commercial videos, the business videos on the streets that exit out from those neighborhoods are still going to play a role in this along with other information.

COATES: Pete, let me bring you in here because that video is a treasure trove not only of information and it's really the only thing people have even seen. It prompted what? Four thousand tips after it is released in 24 hours.

But the items of clothing, aside from the glove, there's a backpack, a focus on that backpack. Now, we've learned that this backpack seems to be very available and readily affordable, it seems, backpack as well. It would have been better, I would suspect, if it was a unique thing. You could go back and figure out how many people in the country or in this area had this when they purchased what. So, talk to me about how you can take the clothing or what you've seen in the image to try to narrow down who it might belong to.

PETE LAPP, RETIRED FBI AGENT: You're right. Very generic clothing. Nothing that jumps out at you. Well-planned in what he selected to wear.

COATES: Kind of generic.

LAPP: Exactly. Very organized going into the crime. You know, committed the crime. Very organized. Very thoughtful and intentional and intelligent.

I see that, you know, this -- if the glove is his, let's just make that assumption, this is an unforced error. If I want that glove to never be found again, I'm driving down the desert somewhere off the road and burning that. He seems, if it's him, he seems to just toss it out for law enforcement to find everything up to the point where it seemed to have been well orchestrated and well planned and well executed. This glove just being kind of thrown out the window. I'm curious as to why. And to me, it showed a mistake that he made.

He has been pretty flawless to this point. I mean, we're almost 11 days into this, and we don't seem to be any closer to identifying him. This glove, if it's his, could be really, really, really important.

COATES: A good point also, though, thinking about there was another error. I mean, he tried to take a plant to cover up a ring door or some kind of doorbell camera, right? There's already some failure to plan or to be completely covert in the operation by virtue of what we're seeing. And yet the glove would be odd.

John, TMZ received a note demanding one bitcoin that's worth about $66,000 in exchange for the identity of the kidnapper. Now, I'm going to remind everyone there is a $50,000-reward for information. Does this request for that one bitcoin for information about the kidnapper, does that pass the smell test for you?

MILLER: No, it doesn't. And, I mean, the irony is this is the new style of kidnapping, anonymous emails as opposed to calling from a burner phone, cryptocurrency exchanges that are hard to trace as opposed to leaving a package.

So, first, you had a kidnapper trying to ransom a victim to the family who apparently did not offer proof of life. Now, you have an actor who is claiming to be able to ransom the kidnapper's name to the FBI or the family. That's not the way the game goes, which is you pay me and I'll tell you the information. It's you give me the information, and then we'll decide whether to pay you. If this is anybody who actually knows anything, they're going to have to come forward with more vetting, which is how do I know what's my access and how can I prove I know whether this is right. Otherwise, it just feels like a scam.

COATES: And there has already been an arrest made at least by one person from an earlier -- what they believe to be a totally bogus ransom note that had come, not the two that people had been focused on prior to this.

[23:15:02]

But we know that there are people out there who are sick enough to try to exploit on somebody's pain, obviously.

Chris, a source tells CNN that the man that was detained last night was on investigators' radar before the doorbell video was released. He was released without charges. He is adamant in all the interviews you've seen, the ones we played today, that he hopes they will find the suspect, but he's not the one. Those eyelashes and eyes were the indication that they gave that he even resembled the person. I mean, is it possible that that detainment and that process of identifying that person, did that give the real suspect, if they're out there, an advantage?

SWECKER: I don't think it gave the real suspect an advantage. I just think it diverted resources for -- a significant amount of resources for half a day or so. I think they were locked on to him possibly because he was a delivery driver. And everybody that had anything to do with that house is under the microscope right now and people that they may be associated with.

So, I would like to see the search warrant affidavit which supports the search warrant because that would lay out the probable cause for that -- for that search. You know, we don't know what the probable cause was for the detention, but it would be about the same. You walk in the line when you hold somebody about five or six hours like that and, you know, that is an arrest in my view. I put my attorney hat on and a prosecutor hat on. You know, it gives me pause if they have 8,000 leads and that was their best lead and they had to cut him loose. That makes me think that maybe they weren't as far along as I thought they were.

COATES: It is really telling, about what they do and do not know, who they have and who they do not. Chris and John, thank you so much. Pete, please stand by because you're going to help me answer some questions about the investigation from viewers at home. We have gotten so many from all of you. You can submit more at cnn.com/asklaura. We will be answering them a little later this hour.

You know, we know crime scenes, they talk through forensic evidence. My next guest says there is plenty to work with at the Guthrie home. He's going to explain exactly why. And later, from the last time she was seen to the moment she was reported missing, the Nancy Guthrie timeline that we are now tracking. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES: We're following the search for Nancy Guthrie. Authorities canvassing a wider area near her home in the Catalina foothills today, leading agents to recover a black glove that may help unlock this case. I want to bring in a veteran retired police detective with extensive forensic experience, Mike McCutcheon. He is the owner of the company Forensic Education. So, you got to give us one right now, Mike, because authorities, they are searching the roads near her home. They're walking among thick brush. Now, we know the glove was found less than two miles away today. But we are on day 11. It is two miles from the home. Why do you think it has even taken so long to even find this? How complex is it to search this kind of terrain?

MIKE MCCUTCHEON, FORMER POLICE DETECTIVE: That's a great question. When you see in the movies where they're doing a line search and everybody is, you know, looking and they're in their line, terrain is unbelievably hard to search. Even like a shell casing in grass is unbelievably hard to find without a metal detector. It's really difficult when you're outside searching for evidence.

When they find something like this glove, that's not that far away. It seems like it's far away. But when you have somebody who has been kidnapped, that's not that far. In a vehicle, think how far you can or how fast you can drive in a vehicle, that's not that far.

What kind of stands out to me is why that glove was there. If this is one that is connected to it, it would lead to me to be an indicator of somebody who -- this is their first time trying to do something like this. And I have some other indicators of like taking 40 minutes inside the house, you know, wearing reflective pieces. You're trying to be at nighttime. He's wearing reflective backpack to go in. Some of these things that I think that this is his first time trying to do this. And he had some planning, not great execution. So, when you're trying to --

COATES: And yet -- and yet, Mike, on that, I want you to elaborate on that. But then you've got to look at the reality. 11 days in, the resources of the federal FBI and others, this person has eluded authorities up until now. I wonder if there is a different perspective by the idea that why would a first-time amateur, how would they be able to pull this off and evade authorities in this way, let alone, what do you think was happening for 43 minutes? I mean, he has a full backpack coming in. There was some planning.

MCCUTCHEON: There certainly is some planning. But there are a couple of things. So, you see that he's wearing his holster in the front of his pants.

COATES: Yes.

MCCUTCHEON: It's kind of like -- there's no one who is trained with a firearm who's going to carry a gun like that. It's not fully secure. If you're going in with the intent to get into a physical altercation, you're going to kidnap somebody, that is not secure. You can see him kind of like grabbing at it a couple times just in that short video. He's not comfortable wearing that.

[23:25:00]

So, again, that is something to me to say -- you know he's got a backpack. We don't know what's in it. Clearly, he's there to do what he's doing. But to go in, and I'm just thinking like if you had this plan, you said this is what my operation is going to be, I wouldn't wear reflective clothing. Like a camera, I would be thinking a camera I'd be able to take care of and I should be able to handle and kidnap an 84-year-old woman in 40 minutes. The longer you're in there, the more evidence you leave behind. Every contact leaves a trace.

COATES: Let's talk about the evidence that could possibly be there. You are a forensic specialist. I mean, the person of interest in this video is wearing a mask. It would make it more difficult --

MCCUTCHEON: Yes.

COATES: -- for things like maybe tracking down hair samples. But you say that the mask is actually not a dead end for law enforcement. How so?

MCCUTCHEON: I don't think that it is a dead end. I think the mask, they're not wearing a face covering like over their mouth. And, as I just said, every contact leaves a trace. And now, if he's in a struggle with somebody who's in the house, you know, with the victim here, if he's in there struggling, it is possible that he could be leaving DNA evidence behind.

Now, DNA evidence, you know, may not be at the level where just me talking is leaving DNA evidence behind. But if you are a professional, you would want to cover that. Just in case you get hit in the mouth, you have to, you know, you end up spitting or have some of your own blood, you know, coming from your mouth, you cough, you -- anything like that, I would cover it. So, yes, they're wearing a mask, but having that mouth open, I think, is an error. I do think that that is an error.

COATES: That's very interesting to think about that, because we do see it exposed. You know, authorities have confirmed that the blood found on the front porch belongs to Nancy Guthrie. So, what do those images tell you about the state in which she was taken and perhaps how she was taken?

MCCUTCHEON: So, with blood stains, you can determine some things that happened, but you're not always able to tell the whole picture. So, I wouldn't be able to tell you how she was taken, but what I can see from that blood stain is those are drip stains, those are stains that are just -- if you or I cut ourselves and blood was just falling on to the concrete, they're going to leave a circular pattern. It's falling at 90 degrees. If it were impact stain, blood coming off of a weapon, cast off stain, you're going to have smaller stains, and they're going to have some direction.

So, there was some altercation that was in there that caused her to bleed and that we can't determine from that blood stain, but there's a decent amount of blood where she is bleeding.

What we do with that is -- blood is very sticky. It's very sticky. And if she's leaving that blood stain on the step, I'm sure there was blood inside the house, which is wonderful for footwear because you step in that because you're dealing with her, you're in close proximity, you're leaving those foot impressions behind.

What I would like to do is I would use a chemical called Leuco Crystal Violet and you're going to be able to spray that on the floors and hopefully see any shoe impressions that you may not be able to see with the naked eye because that blood is sticky and it's going to stick to your shoe and you may not see that you're actually leaving a foot impression or shoe impression, footwear impression behind. And so, I would use a chemical like the LCV or Amido Black and spray that on and be able to see.

Now, we have another piece, that backpack, what they're wearing. Now, we know the shoes that they're wearing. We're starting to piece together our suspect.

COATES: Mike McCutchen, thank you so much.

MCCUTCHEON: You're welcome. Thank you for having me.

COATES: Next, one of Nancy Guthrie's neighbors joins me live with an update on the intensifying door-to-door search taking place as we now near day number 12. And later, it's a concerning yet curious part of that surveillance video, the gun and the holster. Could it help track the subject down? You know what? I've got a top firearms expert who's going to join me live with his assessment tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES: Nearing 12 days into the search for Nancy Guthrie. And tonight, the Pima County Sheriff's Department says it has received -- get this -- more than 18,000 calls since she vanished.

As far as we know, law enforcement is operating off of the following timeline, OK? Nancy Guthrie took an Uber on Saturday, January 31st, around 5.32 p.m., to her daughter Annie's home to have dinner and game night. Police say that family members dropped her back home around 9:48 that night. Hours later, at 1:47 a.m. on Sunday, February 1st, her doorbell camera disconnects. And 25 minutes later, the camera's software detects someone. That perhaps is the subject we've seen in this surveillance video, but we simply don't know. Nancy's pacemaker disconnects from her phone about 16 minutes after that.

No one noticed she was missing until she didn't show up at her friend's home to watch a virtual church service that morning. Guthrie's family went to the home to check on her at around 11:56 in the morning and immediately called 911 after realizing that she was missing. Now, that triggered the search. And since then, local TV stations in Tucson have received two ransom notes on February 3rd and February 6th, but there's still no sign of Nancy Guthrie.

[23:35:02]

Nancy Guthrie's neighborhood has been flooded with agents going door to door to speak to neighbors and to look for any clues that could help find her. I'm joined by a neighbor who lives just a few houses down from Nancy, Walter Branson. Walter, thank you for joining. I can only imagine what it's like in your neighborhood. We have seen law enforcement going door to door, looking for clues. You were actually out of town until today. Can you describe what the police presence is like today?

WALTER BRANSON, NANCY GUTHRIE'S NEIGHBOR: Thanks, Laura. We actually were only out of town for two days, but the presence has been consistent throughout, you know, the period since Nancy Guthrie disappeared. Even before we went out of town, the sheriff came to our door multiple times. But it happened. I guess we're out a lot. We were out each time they came to the door. So, we saw them on the ring doorbell, but we actually haven't spoken to them yet.

COATES: Let's talk about the ring doorbell because there's a lot of people -- a lot of people -- sorry, Walter -- who were saying they can't seem to grasp that no other home camera would have been able to capture anything. But can you just describe for people who don't know your neighborhood? I mean, how far apart are the houses? What's the privacy like between them?

BRANSON: Yes, that's really probably the reason. So, all of the houses in this acre have minimum one-acre zoning.

COATES: OK.

BRANSON: In addition, all of the houses pursuant to restrictions on their deed have to be at least 30 feet from the road. And also, we live in kind of a high desert environment here with heavy vegetation, so not what people typically think of as a desert. So, most of the houses have trees, large cactuses in front, and certainly Nancy Guthrie's house was in that category. So, because of the distance between houses, how far back they're set from the road and the vegetation, people's doorbells will rarely, if ever, see their neighbors -- their neighbors' driveway or their door. So, I'm not at all surprised that ring doorbells didn't really capture anything.

COATES: I'm so glad you described that.

BRANSON: Aside from hers, of course.

COATES: Right. I'm so glad you described that because people have been wondering how could that be, people normally living in much closer proximity. But I can imagine that everyone in your neighborhood, nonetheless, sort of organically check those cameras when this happened or did law enforcement reach out for that request?

BRANSON: Yes. I mean, we all did check our cameras. We were asked to do that. In our case, our camera doesn't even face towards the road, so we were fairly certain we wouldn't see anything. But, you know, everyone checked their cameras. I'm sure nothing, you know, came up other than her own camera.

COATES: Walter, after your description of what the area is like and the terrain that is so unfamiliar to me, can you just -- are you -- have you been surprised about the way the search has been conducted? Is anything surprised you about it?

BRANSON: Well, I mean -- I guess the helicopters. So, we first became aware of this when helicopter was going over our house multiple times. But even days later, helicopter -- the sheriff's helicopter was still going over our house multiple times as they did a grid search. And we were wondering, you know -- I mean, do they think she would be outside? We didn't understand, you know, what they would be searching for.

So, that surprised us a bit. You know, the things that other people are aware of like searching the septic tank up, couldn't figure out what would be in the septic tank. But, again, I'm sure law enforcement, you know, knows what they're doing and would have good answers, but I just can't imagine what those, you know, reasons would be.

COATES: Walter Branson, thank you so much. Right now, the most important clue investigators have is the doorbell surveillance video showing a man in front of Nancy Guthrie's home the night she vanished. There has been a lot of focus on the backpack, the mask, the gloves, even the shoes. But tonight, I want to examine the gun. You can see it right here on the person's waist in some sort of holster. It makes Nancy's disappearance, frankly, all the more chilling. But this image, it could actually hold some very critical clues for investigators.

I want to bring in Stephen Gutowski. He is a firearms expert and founder of the reload.com. Stephen, let's talk about that firearm because I know it's a very blurry image and that's part of the frustration of law enforcement trying to solve this and finance it. But what is your best assessment of even what kind of gun this might be?

STEPHEN GUTOWSKI, FIREARMS EXPERT, FOUNDER OF RELOAD.COM: Yes. Well, from the video, it appears to be a compact or subcompact semiautomatic pistol. Obviously, we don't have a high-resolution image of it.

[23:40:00]

But the profile to me, my first instinct is to say it looks like a Sig Sauer P365. I have a couple of those. They have a similar grip profile, and that's really all we can see in the picture, right? We can't see the barrel or the slide or the trigger guard or the trigger. We can see the grip and it has a grip that looks similar to this Sig model pistol, which is an extremely popular firearm in the United States. And, of course, also, there are a number of other pistols that have a similar shape.

COATES: Yes.

GUTOWSKI: So, you can't really say for sure that it's that model. That's just --

COATES: Why are those so common? I mean, is it because something about the type of gun it is, that it makes it easier to use for an amateur? I mean, what would it tell you about the person who has that sort of weapon? GUTOWSKI: Yes. I mean, if it is a 365 or something similar with a similar grip shape, those are very popular for concealed carry, like for carrying on your person, because they're more compact, they're smaller than traditional large full-sized firearm. And so, that's what makes them so popular. They're also fairly affordable. You know, they're made for mass market production.

COATES: That makes it harder to track down, if it's not unique. That's interesting. A lot of people are talking about the holster. Many people aren't gun owners, wouldn't necessarily be focused on the holster itself. They think about what's inside the holster. But you were looking at that holster, too. And you had some thoughts as to why it shows maybe this person isn't maybe accustomed to carrying a weapon safely.

GUTOWSKI: Yes. It appears to be from the images, from the video, that it's a fabric, maybe a leather holster. It looks like a cheap fabric holster, though. These are not holster that you would usually see someone carrying if they're somebody who carries a lot.

COATES: Why?

GUTOWSKI: Because if a fabric for a gun like this is made out of -- if the holster is made out of fabric, a soft material, it's actually unsafe. It's very -- it can be unsafe to carry because something can get in there and pull the trigger when it's not supposed to, right? Because there's nothing that -- there's no hard surface around it to block something from getting in and causing a negligent discharge or accidental shooting.

And so, the vast majority of people who carry regularly, whether they're law enforcement or civilians, will use what's called Kydex. It's a hard plastic. They'll use that as their holster. Carrying in the front is becoming much more common and much more usual to see, but not like this and not with this type of holster because people carry what they call appendix in the front. It's a little bit easier to access, a little quicker. That's why people tend to do it. But they do it concealed. They do it underneath, inside their waistband, under their clothing, and they do it with these hard-plastic holsters.

COATES: Any reason you could assess whether they were right or left handed by virtue of where the holster is?

GUTOWSKI: It looks right handed because the grip is set up to be able to be grabbed with your right hand. That's what it appears to be for me.

COATES: Perhaps one clue they need. Stephen Gutowski, thank you for your expertise. You have all sent me hundreds of questions about this case and you can keep sending them in at cnn.com/asklaura because, up next, we'll be answering them live with my panel of FBI experts. Lots of interesting ones to get to. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:45:00] COATES: Well, you've got questions and we have just the people to answer them. In the last 24 hours, we've received hundreds and hundreds of your most pressing questions about the search for Nancy Guthrie. So, as promised, it's time to bring you guys at home into the conversation with our law enforcement experts. A reminder for those of you who want to participate, you can send us your questions by going to cnn.com/ask laura.

Pete Lapp is back along with former FBI section chief, John Sullivan. Glad to have both of you guys here. First question, Kathy from Ohio asks, how did the suspect get into Nancy Guthrie's house? Well, the question we don't actually know. That's part of the big mystery here. It's unclear exactly what happened when the sheriff was asked last week about that. If there were any foresigns, they refused to answer the question, so I'm not discussing that at all.

Here's another one from one of you. Harry from Bucks County, Pennsylvania asks this question. Did a robbery also occur? You know, nothing actually points to a robbery as of now because her phone, her wallet, her car, other personal effects, they were all still in the house after she was reported missing, which is not typical for a burglary.

How about this one? Elliot from Montreal asks, if the person or people behind Nancy's kidnapping didn't know about a simple ring camera, are they likely amateurs? What do guys think?

LAPP: Good question. I don't know if I would consider them amateurs. I've seen a lot of skill coming up to this point, frankly. I mean, let's be honest. They've evaded the FBI --

COATES: Yes.

LAPP: -- and law enforcement for 11 days. That's not amateur hour. They've got a lot of breaks, they're going lucky for them, and they've got a lot of skill going into this. I would not describe them as amateurs.

JOHN SULLIVAN, FORMER FBI SECTION CHIEF, INTELLIGENCE DIVISION: Yes, I would agree. I also think it's important to note that most people have ring cameras. So, the idea that they came and then did the work to actually cover that camera shows that they may have actually anticipated that it was there.

COATES: And you mentioned problem solving. It could have just been -- who knows? Well, here's another question. We have so many more. This is from Chase, and he asked this question: Has anyone considered taking her phone around as they investigate areas to see if it attempts to re-sync with her pacemaker? You know, I actually talked to experts about this. Unfortunately, pacemakers emit a low frequency blood to signal. That only connects if you're about within 10 feet. And yet this is still a big question for people. Is that a reasonable distance to search?

SULLIVAN: Ten feet is really not a reasonable way to search or actually find someone. COATES: Because it's just the deserts --

LAPP: We're talking the desert. Wide, wild, west. You know, remote. No.

[23:50:00]

That's going to be, you know, too many resources for law enforcement.

SULLIVAN: And the glove was a mile and a half away. So, that just shows you the expansive nature of the search.

COATES: Good point. Priscilla from Westchester County, New York asks, was the Uber driver who took Mrs. Guthrie to her daughter's home questioned? Well, actually, they did speak with the Uber driver and law enforcement says that she was -- they were helpful. They were helpful and answered all of the questions, and they are not a suspect.

We got another question from Courtney. Courtney asks, please explain why the kidnapper would demand bitcoin. Any thoughts?

LAPP: Well, I mean, it's a modern way of paying these days. I don't have it, but like a lot of people transact and buy things via bitcoin. So, it's not unusual. Probably just a way that they transfer currency that they're comfortable with. Obviously, you know --

COATES: They get anonymity.

LAPP: Yes. Exactly. I mean, you don't have to -- you know, we're not talking about writing a check and leaving cash in the middle of nowhere. There's a degree of distancing, I think, that can be occurring.

SULLIVAN: I think that's right. I think folks feel like bitcoin keeps them more anonymous. And it's not a typical sort of currency that you would imagine being used. We haven't seen it a lot in investigations in the past. But the FBI and other law enforcement agencies have a lot of different ways in which they can investigate things, including bitcoin and cryptocurrency.

COATES: I asked somebody, Eric O'Neill, a former counterintelligence officer. He's on our show just last week talking about this. Listen to what he had to say, too, about cryptocurrency and why it may be used.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC O'NEILL, FORMER COUNTERINTELLIGENCE OPERATIVE: Cryptocurrency is part of an open public ledger. So, you can actually see where that bitcoin addresses that wallet and any transactions that go in and out. And that gives the FBI, in particular, a very excellent avenue to start learning who owns the wallet because at some point, when you take money in cryptocurrency, you have to turn it into cash.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: An important point about whether it really is traceable. Tiffany from North Carolina has a question for us. Tiffany asks, if this alleged subject is so amateurish based on the video, then why is it proving so difficult to find clues and catch up to him? Well, that's the, well, six-million-dollar question.

SULLIVAN: Yes.

LAPP: And I don't agree with the amateur. I'm -- let's say he's a professional --

COATES: Right.

LAPP: -- skilled and, so far, accomplished. You know, got away with this for now almost 11 days, and we still have zero idea who he may be.

COATES: Is there ever a sort of a precedent for this, that somebody could be doing something for the very first time? Because amateur and first time are not really synonymous. But doing it for the first time and have evaded capture for so long?

SULLIVAN: I don't know if there's a precedent for it, but I do think that it's important to recognize how much planning likely went into this. And so, the idea that this individual came with a backpack full of supplies, whatever they may have been, anticipated that the law enforcement would be scanning the area for clues, I think that we have to take into consideration that this person put a lot of time and effort into this attack.

LAPP: But I would suspect this is not his first crime. I think he is probably, you know, maybe been a shoplifter and been arrested. He probably has a criminal history. I can't imagine this is his first rodeo and he has done so well to get away with it for so long. I'm sure there's going to be a criminal history to this.

COATES: We will see.

LAPP: Or individuals.

COATES: We will see. Maria has a question. She asks, if authorities suspect that Nancy is at a location, can they send rescuers without warrants? I'll take this because "exigent circumstances" is a term we use in the law enforcement community to suggest that time is of an essence and you've got to go in now. It's a kind of a kill or be killed. If I don't act right now, somebody could lose their life, and that could apply in an instance like this.

Normally, a warrant is reserved for instances where can you can get probable cause finding. You've got a judge to sign off on it. But if you know someone is in a location, either the evidence will go away quickly, they're running from the law, you can go into a home or the person you're trying to seek out is inside some place, you could have those exceptions. That could play here. I know.

Here's another one here from Erin. Erin asked the question, was there audio in the recovered video files? I'll take it quickly. No. The footage that we currently have and showing to you all is all the FBI release from that doorbell camera and there is no audio on it.

Allison, though, from St. Louis asked the question, does law enforcement believe that the ransom notes are from the kidnapper or is it part of a scam? What do you think?

SULLIVAN: I don't think the FBI or law enforcement has come out and authenticated these ransom notes. And so, I think it's really important that, as this investigation is unfolding, they don't give too much credit to these ransom notes in the public so they can actually do the work on the back end to make sure if they are credible, they're being handled appropriately.

COATES: I have one last question here. Can we go to one from, let's see, from Maria from Boca Raton? Let's see. I'll ask this one. Daisy from Marina, California asked this question.

[23:55:00]

Could it have been a female who kidnapped her? We keep saying he.

LAPP: Daisy, it's possible. Doesn't look like in the video. But something like this probably would have been easier with other people. And could a woman be behind the scenes? You know, in the car driving, helping. I would hold that option out as a good investigative theory. I wouldn't rule it out.

COATES: Kash Patel said persons of interest. We will see. Thank you so much for answering and all of you for your questions. Keep them coming at cnn.com/asklaura. We'll be answering them all week. You know what? We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES: Again, there is a $50,000 reward for any information that leads to Nancy Guthrie's whereabouts or who captured her. If you know anything that could help, please call the local sheriff's department at 520-351-4900 or contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

[00:00:08]

You can also visit tips.fbi.gov. This has been a special edition of "Laura Coates Live: The Search for Nancy Guthrie." Thank you all for watching. I'll see you back here tomorrow night. "The Story Is with Elex Michaelson" starts now.