As the search for Nancy Guthrie continues, a forensic expert explains that investigators may be able to track the 84-year-old through a medical device.
Heather Barnhart, a digital forensic expert with Cellebrite and the SANS Institute, explained during the Tuesday, March 10, episode of “Crime Stories with Nancy Grace,” that Guthrie could “be tracked” through her hearing aids.
Nancy Guthrie Could Be Tracked Through Her Hearing Aids
Barnhart explained to Nancy Grace exactly how Guthrie’s medical hearing devices could help investigators track her location and location history.
“Think of modern hearing aids as you would AirPods or headphones. You plug them into your ears. You can listen to audiobooks. You can listen to music. You can FaceTime,” Barnhart said. “That requires a connection to a device. So if I have hearing aids in right now and Nancy, you and I are in the same room, your phone could possibly ping my Bluetooth of my hearing aids because I could connect to yours.”
However, as Barnhart pointed out, investigators have already revealed that Guthrie’s phone was left behind at the time of her abduction.
“It would be the key to everything on Nancy’s location if she had her phone with her,” the forensic expert added. “So, her phone is tied to those hearing aids and tied to her pacemaker. The fact that her phone is left behind, I’m sure investigators looked to see if they could ping that and get a location, and they either did and they’re holding that close to them, or they fell short.”
One bit of hope that Barnhart shared regarding Guthrie’s hearing aids is the possibility that they were connected to a “Find My” app.
“If Find My is associated to her device…there is a database on her phone that examiners should be able to look at and see her last known location,” she continued. “But in order for that to work, they’d have to be paired for that… It does work really well, and it will show the last known location until the device is no longer active. So, if the hearing aids lose a charge, it won’t be available anymore.”
Nancy Guthrie Investigation Continues
Guthrie was last seen on the evening of January 31 at her daughter Annie’s home. The following morning, after she missed her regularly scheduled church service, authorities were called.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department, along with the FBI’s Phoenix division, has been working tirelessly to bring her home.
Savannah Guthrie and her siblings are offering a $1 million reward for their mother’s return, as authorities search for a masked, armed man who appeared on Nancy’s doorbell camera on the morning of her abduction.
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Nancy Guthrie Disappearance: Forensic Expert Reveals Surprising Way She ‘Can Be Tracked’