Aformer FBI agenthas pointed to a damaged utility box near the Tucson-area home of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie as potential evidence that her abduction on 31 January was carefully planned, with investigators now examining whether the device was deliberately tampered with to cut internet service in the neighbourhood before she was taken.

Jennifer Coffindaffer, a retired FBI special agent, drew fresh public attention to the investigation on Wednesday when she posted on X alongside a WTHR report examining the damaged utility box found near Guthrie's property.

Nancy GuthrieSo if a neighbor's ring stopped working at the time of the abduction, was there an accomplice that was going a round the neighborhood with a frequency jammer? Is that the premise?Jammers intereupt frequency. They don't disable completely. The neighbor would…https://t.co/YDXwEv0LoTpic.twitter.com/e36egt9jyo

'Did the perpetrators in Nancy's abduction tamper with a nearby electrical box?' Coffindaffer wrote. 'That makes sense and the FBI is investigating.'​

"Apparently the notion of more than 1 perpetrator is also being intimated by LE. That also has always made sense", she added.

Detectives have been going door to door, asking residents in Guthrie's neighbourhood whether they experienced internet problems on the night she disappeared.

Some homeowners reported that their connections faltered, and, crucially, that their security cameras glitched during that same period.

A damaged utility box close to Guthrie's home has now been pulled into the inquiry. Law enforcement has not publicly confirmed that the utility box was tampered with, or that any internet glitches were caused by criminal acts.

During a 8 March episode of Brian Entin Investigates, retired FBI special agents Maureen O'Connell and Jim Clemente walked through what they believe could have made Nancy Guthrie a particularly attractive target for an abductor.

Clemente said he understood that Nancy suffered from hearing loss and used 'pretty powerful hearing aids' during the day. In his view, the fact she would likely have taken them out before going to bed could have made her significantly easier to overpower.

Source: International Business Times UK