How doorbell footage is advancing Nancy Guthrie investigation: Richmond expert weighs in

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- It has been nearly two weeks since Nancy Guthrie, mother of “Today” host Savannah Guthrie, disappeared in Arizona. The case is raising questions about privacy after footage from Guthrie's Google Nest was used to further the investigation.

"Being able to see those people, and to be able to know their height, their weight, their shoe size and all of those details just from the picture -- I can't imagine how that can't do anything but help," said Tom Mattson, associate professor of analytics and operations at the University of Richmond (UR).

Newly-released video from the camera shows a masked, armed man, who authorities said is between 5-feet-9-inches and 5-feet-10-inches tall. Investigators said the footage was captured shortly before Guthrie went missing and helped lead to a major breakthrough in the case.

Initially, authorities said the video was believed to be lost. This is because Guthrie did not have a paid subscription for her Nest camera, meaning recordings are typically stored on the device for only a few hours.

This combo from images provided by the FBI shows surveillance footage at the home of Nancy Guthrie the night she went missing in Tucson, Ariz. (FBI via AP)

Mattson said that does not necessarily mean the data was permanently destroyed.

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"We really have to unpack the difference between deleting the data and destroying the data," he said. "It seems like, in this case, the data were deleted but not destroyed, which means the FBI can go in -- assuming they have the warrant."

The recovery of the footage has sparked broader questions about how long security camera companies retain data and when law enforcement can access it.

"We have no insight into their data destruction window," Mattson said. "I think, in the U.S., we hear the word 'surveillance,' and we shut down as consumers. We just fundamentally don't want to be watched by anybody. If that seal of trust is broken, it becomes really challenging to have the positive use cases for these types of Ring cams."

Mattson cautioned that, while companies like Google and Amazon may temporarily store data, that does not automatically mean they are using it to invade customers’ privacy.

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As the search for Nancy Guthrie continues, Mattson said the case highlights both the investigative value of home security cameras and the debate over privacy and digital data with law enforcement.