Nancy Guthrie's neighbor recounts ‘atypical’ dog behavior on night of disappearance, earlier date

TUCSON, ARIZONA: A neighbor of Nancy Guthrie has come forward with reports of "atypical" behavior from his dogs on the night the 84-year-old was likely abducted, as well as on a prior date now central to the investigation. 

Investigators are currently scrutinizing activity from both the early morning of February 1 and January 11 as they attempt to track the movements of a masked intruder seen on Guthrie’s security footage.

Neighbor reports atypical behavior from dogs on key dates

Jeff Lamie, who lives near Guthrie’s home, told ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ that his dogs woke him up at odd hours on January 11 and February 1. 

He explained that this was not normal for his pets and caught his attention once he realized the dates matched the investigation. 

"Oh, just waking me up at that hour," Lamie said when asked what was unusual. "That’s what was atypical. Actually, it hasn’t happened since."

Authorities report that Guthrie’s doorbell camera was disconnected at 1:47 am after capturing a masked individual with an Ozark Trail backpack and a holstered pistol. 

The final sync of Guthrie’s pacemaker occurred at 2:28 am, further narrowing the timeline.

Lamie noted that while he didn't personally witness anything during his late-night trip to the courtyard, his dogs appeared to be reacting to something out of sight. 

"But the dogs did rouse and I took them out. There’s an image of me on camera. I didn’t hear nothing or saw nothing, but you know, animals can be, especially dogs can be hypersensitive and we don’t know if there’s a correlation," Lamie said.

"We’ve shared it and whether it helps with timeline or in any way, we hope it is of some value,” he added.

Sheriff and neighbor focus on significant mid-January date

The investigation has increasingly pivoted toward January 11, a date Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos believes holds significant weight. 

Lamie reported that his dogs exhibited the same restless behavior on that night as well. 

Upon reviewing his surveillance footage at the request of the police, Lamie noticed one of his dogs had become briefly focused on something in the distance. 

He admitted that he hadn't initially connected the events, stating, "And human nature, we just filed it away and didn’t really think about this until we were asked to review our video and then had this recollection and saw this correlation, which was very unusual."

Sheriff Nanos has confirmed that the department is focused on mid-January for reasons beyond just the released security footage. 

"We do believe that something occurred on Jan 11," Nanos told KOLD 13 News, though he cautioned that the lead is not yet definitive. 

Notably, residents within a two-mile radius have been asked to re-examine their footage from the start of the year through February 2, specifically looking for any suspicious activity that matches the January 11 timeframe.

Neighbor describes security gaps and offline cameras

Furthermore, Lamie pointed out that most home cameras only look at front doors or garages, leaving many blind spots in the desert. 

"With the size of the lots and where the cameras are situated, they capture your home and entrance points, but they do not capture much beyond that," Lamie said. 

He also mentioned that two of his own cameras were "offline" during the time in question, though he doesn't know why.

Even though they don't have a suspect yet, the Sheriff says they are not stopping their search for Guthrie. 

"We have so much in front of us. And we believe we have good evidence in front of us," Nanos told KOLD. "Will that dry up? Could I be wrong? Absolutely. Anything is possible, but we’re not giving up."