Experts say screening tips in Nancy Guthrie's disappearance is 'tremendous' and critical work

An Arizona sheriff's department got more than 4,000 calls within 24 hours after the release of videos of a masked person on Nancy Guthrie's porch. Many tips will be worthless. Others could have merit. Experts say one thing's certain: They can't be ignored.

Tips can solve crimes — big or small — and eerie images of a mysterious male covered head to toe have been the most significant clues shared with the public during Guthrie's nearly two-week-old disappearance in the Tucson area.

“It's a tremendous amount of work,” said Roberto Villaseñor, a former Tucson police chief.

“In a situation like this, you really cannot do what's been done without tips and public input,” he said. “They have processed the scene. But once that’s done and exhausted, it's hard to move forward without additional information coming in.”

The Pima County sheriff and the FBI announced phone numbers and a website to offer tips about the apparent kidnapping of Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of NBC “Today” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie. Several hundred detectives and agents have been assigned to the case, the sheriff's department said.

The FBI said it has collected more than 13,000 tips since Feb. 1, the day when Guthrie was reported missing. The sheriff's department, meanwhile, said it has taken at least 18,000 calls.

"Every tip is reviewed for credibility, relevance, and information that can be acted upon by law enforcement," the FBI said Thursday on X, adding that the effort is a 24-hour operation. It said it won't comment on the tips received.

Major U.S. crimes for years have been cracked with a tip. In 1995, the brother and sister-in-law of Ted Kaczynski recognized certain tones in an anonymous, widely published anti-technology manifesto. Known by the FBI as the “Unabomber,” Kaczynski was found living in a shack in Montana and subsequently admitted to committing 16 bombings over 17 years, killing three people.

The 1989 murders of an Ohio woman and two teen daughters in Florida were solved three years later when St. Petersburg police asked the public if they recognized handwriting found in the victims' car. A former neighbor led investigators to Oba Chandler.

Retired Detroit homicide investigator Ira Todd recalled how images from a gas station camera solved the disappearance and death of a 3-month-old baby — and stopped authorities from pursuing the wrong person in 2001. “A niece of this guy saw it on TV and says, ‘That’s my uncle,'” he said.

The murders of four University of Idaho students in 2022 generated nearly 40,000 tips to state and federal authorities. None had a direct role in the capture of Bryan Kohberger, but the public's involvement nonetheless was “absolutely” important, said Lt. Darren Gilbertson of the Idaho State Police.

“That's one of the things that kept us going for weeks," he said, while authorities awaited DNA and other evidence.

Gilbertson said much of the early vetting was done by the FBI. He said agents and analysts who were screening tips had a good grasp of what information could be spiked and what should be handed up to key investigators. Some tips arrived by regular mail.

“Aliens to bears to crazy conspiratorial ideas — don't even pass that along,” Gilbertson said.

Nancy Guthrie was last seen Jan. 31 and was reported missing the following day. Hours before her family knew she was gone, a porch camera recorded video of a person with a backpack who was wearing a ski mask, long pants, jacket and gloves — images that were released by the FBI along with a public plea for help. The FBI on Thursday said the person, who they now consider a suspect, is a male, about 5-foot, 9-inches tall with a medium build. The agency also named the brand and model of the backpack.

The sheriff's department has not said whether any tips tied to the videos have advanced the investigation.

“I'm hopeful,” said Villaseñor, the former Tucson chief. “I have seen cases where simpler and less detailed information has helped bring somebody about. Maybe someone recognizes clothing, maybe the bag. You never know what someone will key on.”

An investigator looks inside a culvert in the neighborhood where Annie Guthrie, whose mother Nancy Guthrie has been missing for more than a week, lives just outside Tucson, Ariz., on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

A small vigil grows near Nancy Guthrie's house, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026 in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

HONG KONG (AP) — Asia shares were trading lower Friday, tracking sharp Wall Street losses on a sell-off of technology-related stocks that investors fear could lose out from artificial intelligence disruptions.

U.S. futures edged lower. The future for the S&P 500 fell 0.2%, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was also 0.2% lower.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.2% to 56,941.97. SoftBank Group, which has a focus on AI, lost 8.9% even after the company reported a $1.6 billion quarterly profit Thursday building on its investments in OpenAI, among other gains.

South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.3% to 5,507.01 despite earlier gains. Samsung Electronics, the country's largest listed company, was up 1.5%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.7% to 26,575.84. The Shanghai Composite index was down 1% to 4,091.65.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 traded 1.4% lower at 8,917.60.

On Thursday, Wall Street saw sharp losses as AI worries dampened sentiment. The S&P 500 fell for its second-worst day since Thanksgiving, dropping 1.6%, or 108.71, to 6,832.76, but it's still near an all-time high that was set last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.3%, or 669.42, to 49,451.98. The Nasdaq composite lost 2%, or 469.32, to 22,597.15.

American technology giant Cisco Systems sank 12.3% even though it reported better-than-expected quarterly results, as investors were concerned about its ongoing profitability.

Shares of technology company AppLovin plunged 19.7% despite better-than-expected quarterly profits as worries over AI undercutting its business weighed on its stock price.

Fears of AI disruptions across industries in recent days have hit investor confidence in companies, especially in software stocks. Some analysts say uncertainties surrounding the AI disruption risk are likely to go on for a while. Many remained concerned about whether massive AI investments by companies will eventually pay off.

But other analysts are more optimistic. Economists at Capital Economics, for example, argue that they still believe in the AI rally, and that this year will be a “good year” for the S&P 500, building on the technology-led gains.

“Our sense remains that a sustained reversal of tech outperformance would require a big slide in tech itself,” Thomas Mathews, head of markets for Asia Pacific at Capital Economics wrote in a recent note. “We think tech will fare very well.”

For other U.S. stocks, McDonald’s was up 2.7% following stronger-than-expected profits. Walmart gained 3.8%.

Investors and economists are also paying close attention to the U.S. inflation data set to be released Friday, which could impact on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate moves. Some economists expect the likelihood of another rate cut is low for the next few months.

In other dealings early Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 0.1% to $62.75 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell less than 0.1% to $67.46 per barrel.

Gold and silver prices gained. The price of gold — which earlier fell back below $5,000 per ounce — was up 0.4% to $4,970.30. The price of silver rose 1% to $76.45 per ounce.

The U.S. dollar rose to 153.38 Japanese yen from 152.72 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1857, down from $1.1871.

James Conti works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)