Amid the search for Nancy Guthrie, the mother of ‘Today’ show host Savannah Guthrie, NewsNation’s Brian Entin has reported that investigators are using a “signal sniffer” in an attempt to detect Nancy’s pacemaker. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told Fox News that no arrests have been made in the case yet.
“Investigators have used what is called a “signal sniffer.” It is a small device that was sent in and attached to the Sheriff’s helicopter. It can detect Nancy Guthrie’s pacemaker signal. The helicopter has to stay low and move slowly for it to work,” Entin wrote on X.
As the search entered its third week on Sunday, February 14, a task force waited for forensic results from a late-night operation that took place on Friday miles from Nancy’s home. Four people were detained, and later released, after the FBI executed a federal search warrant at a house in the Catalina foothills, officials told Fox News Digital on Saturday.
Nanos, who was not present during the search said that there were no arrests and “no sign of Nancy was found.”
What is a “signal sniffer”?
A signal sniffer is a hardware or software device that is used to monitor, capture, and analyse data communication or electromagnetic signals. The device is used in specialized applications to track radio frequencies in special cases, for example, while identifying a missing person’s pacemaker from a helicopter. It is also often used to monitor and troubleshoot data packets on networks.
A signal sniffer is the police’s latest hope in the Guthrie case. Authorities used the device mounted on a helicopter in an attempt to detect Nancy’s pacemaker, NewsNation reported.
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The technology was on one of the skids of a Pima County Arizona Sheriff Department helicopter, which was seen flying low over the Tucson area.
Maureen O’Connell, a former FBI special agent, said that the agency will likely employ a variety of technology to find Nancy. “With regards to this particular tool … I do know that the pacemaker sends off a very short-distance alert, or whatever, so they’re going to have to get really close,” O’Connell told NewsNation on Saturday.
What we know about Nancy Guthrie’s pacemaker
Nancy’s pacemaker stopped syncing with her Apple devices shortly after she went missing. A law enforcement source previously told Fox News that the implanted medical device lost contact with the Apple products belonging to Nancy around 2 am.
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Hours later, authorities reached Nancy’s Arizona home around noon and found that her phone and Apple Watch were still inside the house, the source said.
Nanos previously told US Weekly that Nancy’s disappearance has been “tough on” Savannah and her siblings – sister Annie and brother Camron. “They’re leaning on each other,” Nanos said. “They’re very cooperative with us and everything we’re doing.”
