As the search for missing grandmother Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show star Savannah Guthrie, approaches its sixth month, residents of Tucson, Arizona, have been further spooked by a recent assault that occurred just 30 miles from her home.
The attack occurred around 2:40 a.m. on July 21 in Tucson, where Nancy lived for decades before her kidnapping on February 1.
According to an official media release from the Pima County Sheriff's Department, "an unknown male suspect entered the residence through an unlocked door, physically and sexually assaulted the female victim, and prior to fleeing the scene, attempted to burglarize the home".
© Getty ImagesThe authorities revealed that the investigation was ongoing, and Sheriff Chris Nanos later confirmed to Fox News Digital that there was "nothing to indicate the cases are related".
The suspect was described as around 5 feet 11 inches tall with a thin build and a grayish beard. The police have asked residents in the local area to examine their home security footage for anything suspicious.
The assault comes almost six months after Nancy was taken from her home in the early hours of February 1. She had spent the previous night having dinner with her family, and was dropped home just before 10 p.m.
© InstagramHer home security camera was disabled at around 1:47 a.m., and her pacemaker disconnected from her phone at around 2:28 a.m., indicating she had moved out of range. Authorities have been desperately searching for any evidence that could lead to Nancy's discovery, and the FBI are working in conjunction with the local police department.
Learn more about Nancy's disappearance below...
Although little evidence has surfaced in the search for the 84-year-old, the FBI did release surveillance footage that showed a masked man attempting to disable her camera. He wore a balaclava, a backpack and gloves, and had a gun holstered in the waistband of his pants.
FBI experts suspect that the intruder stands around 5 feet 9 inches with a medium build. FBI Director Kash Patel shared with Fox News Digital that the search for footage from Nancy's doorbell camera had proven difficult as she did not have a subscription to the company, meaning the videos were not stored.
© FBI"We were looking for the needle of all needles in all haystacks, because since she didn't pay for it, they didn't record that data," he said. "But there was a chance that it was located in their cache just before it was being deleted."
© GettyTensions have been high between the FBI and the local police department after Kash claimed in May that his team was kept out of the investigation for four days.
"It is a state matter. It's a state and local law enforcement matter. What we, the FBI, do is say, 'Hey, we're here to help. What do you need? What can we do?' And for four days, we were kept out of the investigation," he said on the Hang Out with Sean Hannity podcast. "We could have gotten [the footage] days before," he added. "We could have also maybe gotten more data."
