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Laura Coates Live

U.S. and Mexican Border Officials on Lookout for Nancy Guthrie; Investigation in Nancy Guthrie Case Continues; CNN's Valeria Leon Reports from Mexico Regarding Nancy Guthrie Case; Laura and Guests Answer Viewers' Questions. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired February 18, 2026 - 23:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[23:00:00]

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ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: A quick programming note. Timothee Chalamet and Michael McConaughey talk craft and career on a special CNN and Variety town hall event this Saturday at 7 p.m. on CNN and on the CNN app.

And thank you very much for watching "NewsNight." "Laura Coates Live" starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN (voice-over): The search for Nancy Guthrie going international.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Investigators have briefed border patrol agents and Mexican law enforcement authorities.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): If you're the kidnapper, crossing the border means you're creating a record of that movement.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Investigators are going into gun shops trying to match the unique holster.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): More than 49,000 tips have been called in.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): TMZ are reporting they've received a new ransom demand.

UNKNOWN: This is a highly-sophisticated demand.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Investigators are looking into genetic genealogy databases.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Authorities are now pulling data on every sale of that backpack statewide.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Is there any evidence so far that Nancy is still alive?

CHRIS NANOS, SHERIFF, PIMA COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: There has been no evidence that she's not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAURA COATES, CNN HOST AND SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Good evening and welcome to a special edition of "Laura Coates Live: The Search for Nancy Guthrie." Tonight, investigators are making sure that no stone is left unturned and looking into the possibility that whoever took Nancy Guthrie may have fled to Mexico. We're told law enforcement has briefed Mexican officials to be on the lookout for any clues about her disappearance. U.S. Border Patrol agents have also been briefed.

In just a moment, our reporters and FBI analysts will unpack all of the major developments from the day, and there were quite a few.

Nancy Guthrie's home is just about 68 miles from Mexico. And now, a Mexican nonprofit organization says it's helping with the search. And listen to this: The founder says a member of the Guthrie family directly reached out to them for help.

But right now, investigators are still working the ground game in Tucson. They're combing through thousands of hours of video, meticulously inspecting it frame by frame after canvassing residences, businesses, and government agencies.

Authorities are also honing in on what that suspect wore, including his Walmart backpack. "The New York Times" is reporting the sheriff is pulling data on every sale of that backpack all across the state. And police are looking for overlaps, like people who also bought latex gloves or a mask.

There's also this: The FBI is cross-referencing Google searches for Nancy Guthrie's address and Savannah Guthrie's salary apparently made in the weeks before Nancy Guthrie was taken.

And yes, TMZ continues to factor into all of these once again. The outlet says it has gotten a new graphic ransom note asking for a crypto payment, but not in bitcoin, something else. The demand is roughly equivalent to the first unverified ransom note, about $6 million. And we have no idea if it's legit or if it's even from the same person.

But all of this is adding new pressure on the sheriff as we now near day 19 of the search.

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UNKNOWN (voice-over): Has there any evidence so far that Nancy is still alive or is it just hope of investigators and the family?

NANOS: There has been no evidence that she's not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: I want to start with Briana Whitney, a reporter with Arizona's 3TV and CBS 5 and host of "True Crime Arizona Live." So, Briana, Mexican authorities have been briefed, we understand, on what has been going on, but does that also mean that the center of the investigation is outside of Tucson?

BRIANA WHITNEY, REPORTER, ARIZONA'S FAMILY: Not particularly. I mean, when you're talking about Southern Arizona investigations that are this high profile, it is not uncommon at all for these law enforcement agencies to work with Mexican officials. I mean, that is pretty common, and we would expect that in this investigation.

But it really still seems like the crux of the investigative efforts are still centered around Southern Arizona and the Tucson area. We know they're doing that gun probe. They're going to stores like that. They're still focusing on the DNA and those results coming back as well.

So, I think it is kind of one of those things where this was to be expected in terms of contacting Mexico authorities, but I still think most of the investigative efforts still centered here in Arizona.

COATES: You know, you're hearing from the attorney of the man whose home was raided during last Friday night's operation, but was not arrested.

[23:05:00]

What's he saying?

WHITNEY: Right. So, we aren't naming their client just because there are no charges yet in this investigation, no charges filed at all. But it is interesting. He did say that his client and his mom were both detained after two search warrants last Friday. And they were both detained, they were questioned, and then they were released. But they are adamant in saying that his client is not involved in Nancy Guthrie's kidnapping, abduction at all, neither one of them are, and that they believe that they're just at the same kind of place that everybody else is in wanting Nancy Guthrie to be returned safely.

So, again, we now know who was detained, we now know that there were two search warrants and that this man and his mom were both detained together, but no more answers on that, and they are vehemently saying not involved.

COATES: Well, is the sheriff any closer to determining if the person we see in that video surveillance even acted alone?

WHITNEY: I mean, you know, he went on the record today and said that they are looking into the possibility that there was an accomplice. That's still a possibility. To be honest, it feels like anything is a possibility at this point. It feels like we're still going with DNA. We're waiting for those results to come back in. We're hopeful that there will be new surveillance video and pictures. We know they're trying to go through the other cameras that were on Nancy Guthrie's property. We now know they're also testing biological evidence that was found in the home as well.

So, could there be an accomplice? It sounds like the sheriff says that's still a possibility. But there are so many parts of this investigation that are outstanding. It seems like we need some of those results back to make more of a concrete answer on that. Obviously, we hope to find that soon as we near three weeks of her gone, which is, honestly, shocking to say.

COATES: Unbelievable. Briana Whitney, thank you so much.

I want to bring in our investigative experts, former FBI executive assistant director for intelligence, Josh Skule, and retired FBI special agent Michael Harrigan, both with us here.

I mean, we begin with you, Josh, because this idea of the relationship between Mexico and the United States is particularly interesting to a lot of people given the proximity of her home, about 60 miles from the Mexican border. Officials on both sides of the border are monitoring any leads in this investigation. How would that collaboration possibly work?

JOSH SKULE, FORMER EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR INTELLIGENCE, FBI: What happens every day? The U.S. law enforcement working with Mexican officials. We've seen it certainly in the last year or so. Them, Mexican officials, also turning over drug lords. So, the cross-border operations can't happen without agreement from Mexico. Certainly, they will feel the same scrutiny. They pay attention to American media. They know that this is important.

The FBI has legal attaches down there, large legal attache presence that have relationships with trust and law enforcement to help run down some of these leads.

COATES: I'm curious about the trusted law enforcement because we know, really, this has been kind of a whole of government approach. The president of United States has said he wants resources devoted to finding Nancy Guthrie, has spoken to Savannah Guthrie.

We also learned that tonight, the Guthrie family reached out to a Mexican non-profit of women activists, and they're known for locating hundreds of missing persons in Mexico. What does it say to you that they've called in this sort of entity to aid in the search? Is it a matter of not trusting what's happening? Is it a matter of just desperation or just trying everything they can?

MICHAEL HARRIGAN, RETIRED FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Well, I think when you look at something like this where a family member is reaching out for these resources, you have to understand first that the family is suffering here. And we don't know how close that family member is to the actual siblings or anything like that. So, it could be somewhat of a distant relative doing this.

And it's a natural thing for family to feel frustrated when a case goes on this this long. And they may be reacting to information they see in the media. And in good faith, they're simply trying to get some other resources involved here.

COATES: There are resources devoted to looking at thousands of hours of footage of even restaurants that Nancy Guthrie has been known to attend and go to in Tucson as well and also area near her neighborhood. Does this mean that even despite expanding to below the border, that the focus is primarily on Tucson and trying to understand who may have been in her proximity there?

SKULE: I would say the investigation centers in Tucson.

COATES: OK.

SKULE: I don't think that a law enforcement can discount. We had some initial reporting that somebody had seen Nancy across the border and was asking for a reward. Law enforcement has to run that down. They have to do that. They can't discount anything at this point as they're still developing their investigative theory, they're still trying to gather evidence.

So, the investigation is starting in Tucson and it will expand outwards as needed and as the leads -- as you reported, an expansive, a vast amount of leads, all of which are have to be resolved and takes a long time.

COATES: Can A.I. aid in this effort?

HARRIGAN: Absolutely. I think what you see behind the scenes is there's a large cadre of analysts here that are supporting the agents and the investigators in the field.

[23:10:01]

And they're using a lot of -- likely using a lot of high-tech methods to collate this data and cross-reference leads and come up with actionable intelligence that can be acted on by the investigators.

COATES: Let's talk about ransom notes. We know that there had been multiple. We don't know if any of them are legitimate or have been verified. But certainly, you heard in one of the videos from Nancy Guthrie -- from her children, excuse me, they would pay, referencing some sort of ransom.

Harvey Levin at TMZ tonight says they received another ransom note, and he describes it as highly sophisticated, that it is graphic in its description of the consequences if you do not pay. And they're asking for a payment in a different form of cryptocurrency. What does this new email tell you?

SKULE: I'm not sure we can glean much of it until we find out how it's connected to the other ransom notes. The initial ransom --

COATES: If at all.

SKULE: If at all. If the other ransom notes were connected through the bitcoin account, at least. Whether or not they were real or not is unknown. Investigators are looking to see, can this new ransom note be linked to the previous three? And still, the family is going to be encouraged before they pay any money, where's the proof of life that Nancy is still alive and that the people that are sending this note have her?

COATES: How important, do you think, this backpack is going to be as a linchpin in this case? We obviously know where it comes from. But that's the beginning of the inquiry. They don't know who bought it, what location, when it was purchased, if the other clothing matches. They're trying to cross references. Is that the way to sort of expand this grid?

HARRIGAN: Absolutely. I think you look at all those characteristics seen on the film. And, you know, the number one thing here is spurring, you know, public input, additional information coming in. I think that's the most important reason to have that out there. So that backpack will be critical to understand whether the individual brought specific items in with him or if it was a backpack that was going to be used to simply remove items. We don't know that.

COATES: Are you surprised that there's not a vehicle that has been identified? I mean, you can't drive down a road in this area and many areas across the country without cameras that are tracking in some way, shape or form. Does it surprise you we are not publicly aware, I do mean publicly aware, of a vehicle in connection with this? It kind of walked off with her.

SKULE: I -- well, you look at the area, and there's just -- it's very desolate. There's not a lot of public cameras. So, what vehicle would you be looking for if you didn't have an initial lead? As we've seen in other high-profile investigations, it often focuses on errant things, a white van, a blue car, whatever it is.

And so, it does surprise me we don't have a vehicle, but when you look at where she was taken and how rural it is, it doesn't surprise me that they have not been able to pinpoint it. And, of course, she did not walk off. I would not be surprised if they didn't have other evidence associated with a vehicle that they could look for, such as tire tracks or something like that they've taken moldings from.

COATES: They may not be sharing.

SKULE: If they did have a vehicle, I think that's something you would put out.

COATES: You agree?

HARRIGAN: I agree with that. Josh is dead on on this.

COATES: Josh, Michael, please stand by. I've got a lot more questions, as you can imagine. But CNN is going inside Mexico City tonight for a closer look at the search for Nancy Guthrie and how it's playing out in the public there and also in the press.

Plus, the sheriff says there's mixed DNA they have to work through. What does that mean? And could it complicate the new round of testing? I've got one of the top DNA experts in the field. The man who helped exonerate Amanda Knox is going to join me.

And if you have questions on the case, send them in at cnn.com/asklaura. My experts will be with me later this hour to answer as many of your questions as we can.

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COATES: Eighteen days into the search for Nancy Guthrie and law enforcement zeroing in on the unknown DNA found in her home. But they've uncovered a potential challenge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANOS: Sometimes, DNA is mixed. We have DNA from that scene that is a mixture of DNAs. So, we have to separate, hope the lab can do that, and still preserve some of that evidence in case the defense wants to test it should we make an arrest.

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COATES: I'm so glad to have our next guest with us because he's a DNA expert, also the former director of the Idaho Innocence Project. Greg Hampikian has extensive experience in complex forensic investigations and was instrumental in overturning Amanda Knox's conviction for the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher in Italy. Greg, welcome. I'm glad to have your mind with us because I need you to explain for my audience what is mixed DNA and how do you extract the information that investigators need without jeopardizing the evidence?

GREG HAMPIKIAN, DNA EXPERT, FORMER DIRECTOR OF IDAHO INNOCENCE PROJECT: So, mixed DNA is just what it sounds like. It means more than one contributor. So, if there's one contributor in the DNA, you run it on your machines, and you get peaks that represent the DNA profile. I can teach a 10-year-old how to match a single contributor DNA profile of reference to evidence.

When there's a mixture, it's hard to tell which peaks belong to which person. It's not impossible. There are a lot of great new computer programs that help us go through the data. But it complicates things quite a bit. And there is a certain number of people.

Each lab decides, where they'll just throw up their hands and say, we can't -- we can't do this. We can't do more than four contributors, lot of labs will say. But there are other labs that say they can go up to 10 contributors. So, it does complicate things.

[23:19:59]

COATES: I mean, the next step is normally to look at investigative genealogy if someone were to throw their hands up or to have inconclusive results. But you have cautioned that that can take a lot of time, but also has some other hurdles to overcome, right?

HAMPIKIAN: Yes, yes. So, they finished the first part, which is the forensic DNA. And that still has several things that they can do. So, it's not just a search of the convicted criminals that are in the FBI's database, but you can also look for relatives who are convicted criminals and also unsolved forensic samples. So, if the person who left the DNA, say, on the glove, was also leaving DNA at crime scenes that were not solved, that will also be a hit.

Now, the genetic genealogy, that's a very different kind of test. The forensic test, we look at 23 locations on the DNA. The genealogists look at hundreds of thousands. It's in a sense more complicated but, you know, your aunts and uncles have been doing it for 15 years on family trees. It gives us a good lead, set of leads --

COATES: Right.

HAMPIKIAN: -- to a family tree. The problems that you hinted at, for example, in 2012, we taught a local police department here in Idaho how to get a last name using the Y chromosome from some semen left on a victim. And they found a lead to a family tree, to the last name of the man who might have left the semen. But the first person they detained to get a sample from didn't match exactly.

So, the important thing is with genetic genealogy, you get a family tree. If you have two brothers about the same age, you got to do a lot of investigation, or uncles, you know, if you have cousins who might be involved. So, it gives us --

COATES: Does ethnicity have an impact on the ability to find the information as well?

HAMPIKIAN: Sorry?

COATES: Does ethnicity impact the conclusions?

HAMPIKIAN: Yes. Ethnicity is really important. First of all, you get ethnicity information from those genealogical tests. But it turns out Caucasians have participated a lot in these genealogy databases. So, if you have a sample left by a Caucasian, you have about a 75 to 85 percent chance of getting a reasonable family tree.

With other ethnicities, they've participated less in these forensic, sorry, in these genealogical databases, and so just harder to draw a family tree.

But with Caucasians in the United States, it's pretty easy. You don't have to contribute. Don't worry. Your relatives have. They'll draw the family tree.

The reason it takes so long is once the DNA is done, you turn it over to genealogists. These are people who work with paper records, with birth certificates. We had one case where we got the last name. Turns out the child was not given the last name of the father.

COATES: Wow.

HAMPIKIAN: Yes. So, you have adoptions, you have, you know, question paternity. And so, it's a complicated thing to finish the genealogy. But it's really a paperwork --

COATES: Indeed.

HAMPIKIAN: -- a record study. It can take a month. It can take longer than that.

COATES: My goodness, the complexity involved. So important to have your expertise. Greg Hampikian, thank you for joining.

Up next, 40,000 tips and counting as the sheriff's team tracks down leads in the hope of getting the one that breaks it all open. My profilers standing by to explain why all it takes is just one.

And later, Google did it once with the camera outside. Can they do it again with the cameras inside? We'll walk you through the precarious effort to recover the video that everyone hopes is still there.

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[23:25:00]

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COATES: With more than 40,000 tips to Nancy Guthrie case, it may seem like police are searching for a proverbial needle in a haystack. But tips from the public can crack open cases even after they've gone cold.

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COATES: That's what happened in the case of the deadly 1996 Atlanta Olympics bombing. But other attacks were ultimately linked back to Eric Robert Rudolph. He was anti-government and anti-abortion. And many of his bombs targeted abortion clinics, including one in Birmingham, Alabama in 1998. But during that attack, two witnesses saw Rudolph leaving and wrote down his license plate number on a paper cup and an envelope. That helped police identify him. And Rudolph was arrested in 2003 and was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Other times, an acquaintance can provide a critical clue. In 1989, Oba Chandler killed a woman and her two daughters in Florida, and dumped their bodies into Tampa Bay. For three years, the case sat dormant until police released a billboard with a handwritten letter on it and asked people to identify who wrote it. The day after the billboard went up, someone who had worked with Chandler recognized that handwriting and called police.

[23:30:04]

Chandler was arrested and convicted of killing Joan Rogers and her daughters, Michelle and Christe. And sometimes, a family member provides the crack in the case. That's what happened with the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski. It was his brother who helped end Kaczynski's 20-year reign of terror.

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ANTHONY BISCEGLIE, ATTORNEY: When the manifesto was published, David Kaczynski read the manifesto with the idea that he would be able to immediately discount any connection between his brother and the Unabomber. Unfortunately for Mr. David Kaczynski, when he read the manifesto, he was unable to do that and, in fact, was left with considerable unease.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: That ultimately led to the Unabomber's arrest before he took a plea deal and died in prison in 2023.

My next guest helped to track down the Unabomber with that tip, former senior FBI profiler Mary Ellen O'Toole. And also with us, crime scene investigator Sheryl McCollum. Glad to have both of you, ladies, here with me and unpack what has been going on. Mary Ellen, based on what you know so far, do you think there's enough there for someone in the public to try to help solve this or is more needed to try to spark that key tip?

MARY ELLEN O'TOOLE, FORMER SENIOR PROFILER AND SPECIAL AGENT, FBI: Well, I absolutely think there's enough out there right now for someone to call in to spark somebody's interest and to say, I'm not totally sure, but there's just something about that outfit, there's something about that holster, I heard somebody say comments about kidnapping this woman a week before. There's definitely enough information out there for somebody to call in.

COATES: Sheryl, law enforcement has only put out this surveillance video and the description. But what should the public, particularly people in Tucson, be considering behavior-wise?

SHERYL MCCOLLUM, CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATOR: You know, here's what I love: As soon as that video was released, the general public went to work, Laura. When I first heard the person was 5'9" to 5'10", it was from somebody that already did the math, looking at the bricks and the stone. That was just a person on the internet. So, the holster is really unusual. That backpack, they already told us online it came from Walmart.

The general public will go to work if you give them something to do. I know they're playing this close to the vest, but the more they can release, the more they're going to find out.

COATES: You know, Sheryl, on that point, we haven't really seen a police coordination of a large search using public volunteers. Is that a missed opportunity?

MCCOLLUM: It's a huge missed opportunity. Normally, you know, when you send law enforcement there, from other FBI offices, they're not from there. They don't know the neighborhood, they don't know the terrain, they don't know the people. People from that area, from that neighborhood, from her street, they know where to go, they know how to search. Again, give them something to do. Let them walk shoulder to shoulder to try to find anything. A cigarette butt, a cup, another glove, something, anything.

COATES: Mary Ellen, if this was indeed a kidnapping and if the person who did it has not been communicating with the family or the FBI, I mean, what would that tell you about the profile and psychology of a criminal who would do something like this and then stay in the shadows, stay quiet?

O'TOOLE: I think there are several possible reasons for that, and one of them is he's dead. Another possible reason is that he did not anticipate the reaction of the general public and of law enforcement, and that's not something that you can plan for. If you've never done this before, you're probably really taken back by how much attention, and rightfully so, that this case has gotten, and so that has caused him to go underground. I think those, for me, would be the two primary reasons that we have not heard anything from this person.

COATES: If the person has died, who took Nancy Guthrie, is it a suggestion that they were working at the behest of someone else and their utility is now done as well?

O'TOOLE: Not necessarily. No. I could be, unfortunately, the person died from suicide.

COATES: What would it say about a perpetrator if they've already taken the risk of kidnapping Nancy Guthrie but also make the calculation to then cross the border?

[23:35:00]

O'TOOLE: Well, if they cross the border, again, it depends. Did they plan to cross the border or did that thought come after the kidnapping? If that thought came after the kidnapping, then that's where we're going to see more mistakes. Where he has planted out is where he has done really well. If that crossing was part of the original plan, then he'll do much better down in Mexico. But at this point, we're not sure.

COATES: Sheryl, the dollar award is now even higher than it once was. There's a new $102,000 reward from crime stoppers, $100,000 reward from the FBI. This is very high-profile case. I wonder what the combination of these rewards and, of course, the high-profile attention, does either have an impact on the case in either direction?

MCCOLLUM: I think the original reward was to go towards somebody that may be in the kidnapper's social circle. I don't think anybody, if they actually had information of where she was, wouldn't willingly give that. Again, I think that was for a specific group, not the general public.

Laura, you said something the other day that was so beautiful. You said you would not be a conduit for hate and bigotry. Well, I don't think we should be a conduit for misinformation either. I think that person on that video was mission-ready. He had a mask, he had a gun, he had a backpack filled, he tested the doorknob, he breached that home, he left with her while she was bleak. This is a great concern to me.

COATES: Mary Ellen O'Toole, Sheryl McCollum, thank you both for your insight. Really important to hear from both of you. Investigators, they are hoping to find more surveillance video from inside Nancy Guthrie's home, but they have their work cut out for them. Now, we'll discuss this more with online privacy expert and former NSA researcher, Patrick Jackson. Patrick, talk to me here because the sheriff confirmed that Google is looking for more video, but the surveillance system records over old video. You know, he explained then how difficult it is to retrieve it. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANOS: They call it scratching. It's like -- the way it was described to me is you've got eight layers of paint and you want to peel down to the sixth layer. But you get to that fifth layer, you might tear the sixth layer. So, there, it's a delicate operation for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Patrick, how delicate is that recovery process and how long does that really take?

PATRICK JACKSON, CTO AT DISCONNECT, ONLINE PRIVACY EXPERT, FORMER NSA RESEARCHER: Well, you know, it depends. Sometimes, it can be quicker. You know, when people think that they delete a file, it's actually not that simple. You know, it's really the pointer or the link to that file is deleted, but the file is still around. And so, if you move quick, then you could recover that file. But if you start overriding the file with more video files, then that's where it starts to get delicate.

But, you know, I think there's a couple of ways that Google and likely, you know, the FBI is maybe helping to recover these files. And they could be in a variety of places, maybe just not on the original hard drive that they are originally collected on.

COATES: Does that mean that they would have to have some precision in terms of the date and the time to really be able to unpeel it efficiently? Otherwise, you know, it kind of runs the gamut, right?

JACKSON: Yes. You know, the first step is going to be to try to narrow down the time period because Google, they're getting so many terabytes of data, maybe even an hour. And so, they're going to have to narrow it down. And then, once they narrow that down, then they're going to have to start the process of saying, OK, we need to isolate these drives, we cannot write any more files onto these drives because we need them, the original files. If we can recover them, they're going to be in the best state, untouched, pulled away from the network.

There is also other method. You know, Google -- Google has a whole, you know, different types of businesses that may train on these videos. And so, it could be that the Nest server is the first hop where these videos are collected, but they could have other downstream processes that also --

COATES: OK. JACKSON: -- maybe train their A.I. models with. And so, I think they're going to be touching every process in that pipeline to figure out are these videos there.

COATES: That's important to think about. And, of course, there is a reason that these different files overwrite themselves or are reported over or are not retained. People are thinking about privacy concerns, which is sparking a lot of curiosity now. Why do you think Google went ahead and cooperated with authorities, knowing that there might be some concern over backlash or otherwise, even though the ultimate goal obviously is to bring this woman home?

[23:40:04]

JACKSON: Yes. You know, I think this decision probably went to the top brass at Google because they knew that they had information or they could likely get the information that the authorities needed, but it would put the spotlight on them. Their customers would now have to realize that videos that their cameras collect that they don't think are actually saved are, in fact, videos that could be recovered.

And so, I think this case was so important to Google that, probably from the top, they made the decision, you know, hey, we're going to show our hand, essentially, of what we're capable of. We're going to work hard and our engineers are going to work hard to try to recover this video.

But now, it does raise questions, and I think that they knew when they made this decision that it was going to -- they were going to have to welcome these questions.

And people are going to have real -- you know, I think everybody kind of already assumes that this cloud is this big idea that nothing ever gets deleted. But now, that's true. You know, if these videos can be recovered in this case, it's likely that other videos that maybe people think are deleted can also be recovered.

COATES: Remember, we're looking at videos from inside of her home, raising ultimate privacy concerns for people with cameras inside their homes as well. Patrick Jackson, thank you so much.

JACKSON: No problem. Thank you for having me.

COATES: Next, with law enforcement in Mexico aiding in the search for Nancy Guthrie, is there anything being done to make sure the public there is aware? You know what? We have a report on that tonight from inside Mexico City. And keep sending in your questions about the case to cnn.com/asklaura. My team of FBI experts will be back to answer them tonight.

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[23:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COATES: Well, so many of you have been asking me, is the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie getting any media coverage or attention inside Mexico? Well, it's a good question. You know, I was curious about that as well. So, our team got in touch with our CNN reporter, Valeria Leon, who is based in Mexico City, and we asked her to look into it. Here's her report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The disappearance of Nancy Guthrie is not a major news story here in Mexico. In the border state of Sonora, the vice prosecutor says his office has not received any information tying Guthrie's disappearance to Mexican territory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESUS FRANCISCO MORENO, VICE PROSECUTOR FOR INVESTIGATIONS OF SONORA (through translator): We don't have that information. We'll check it with the communications department.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEON: But we do have confirmation that authorities on the Mexican side of the border are now also working on the search. Typically, when a disappearance occurs near the U.S.-Mexico border, Mexican authorities are alerted and information is shared with U.S. agencies. Guthrie lives near Tucson, Arizona, which is about 60 miles from the border. On the streets of Mexico City, most people we spoke with had never heard of Nancy Guthrie.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN (through translator): I don't know much about the case.

UNKNOWN: I'm not aware of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEON (voice-over): For many Mexicans, this lack of awareness is not surprising. Mexico faces its own crisis of disappearances.

LEON: In Mexico City, there's even a traffic circle where faces of the disappeared are on display, a constant reminder for families still waiting for answers of their loved ones.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN (through translator): Listen, here, we've had many people go missing, and this shouldn't happen because we all want to make it home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEON: In our search, we found very little newspaper coverage. If you take a glimpse at newspapers here, you'll see there's no mention of the Guthrie case on any of their front pages. LEON (voice-over): And with so little information available, people remain largely uninformed about her apparent kidnapping.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN (through translator): That's all I know, that she has been kidnapped. It has been several days already. I don't know how many.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEON (voice-over): That stands in sharp contrast to the United States, where the case continues to generate intense speculation.

LEON: For now, on this side of the border, the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie remains distant.

Valeria Leon, CNN, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COATES: Our thanks again to Valeria Leon and her team in Mexico City. Really fascinating. OK, you've got some other questions about the case, and we have just the people to answer them. So, let's bring you all at home into the conversation with our law enforcement experts. And a reminder for those of you who want to participate, you can send us your questions by going to cnn.com/askLaura. I've got Josh Skule and Michael Harrigan back with me now.

First question. I've got Shelly from San Diego who asks, have they checked with doctors and pharmacies in Arizona to see if anyone has tried to renew the medication that Nancy Guthrie needs to stay alive? And actually, yes, the sheriff told reporters in a press conference several weeks ago that they were contacting pharmacies and hospitals, asking them to check their logs.

Let's go to Chris from Missouri who asks, how can investigators definitively clear close family members and others in the immediate circle with such confidence? Thoughts?

SKULE: So, my initial thoughts on that are the evidence that law enforcement is looking at right now.

[23:49:59]

we know several searches have been done with the family's consent, both at Nancy's house, but also at the sister's house, that there's nothing that's leading them to believe that they are involved. And the intense media scrutiny that's going on with others that are having their own theories about it has put pressure on the family. That is not helpful.

COATES: Maggie asked this question: Ancestry.com, etcetera may have helpful information in a crime, so why is it difficult for law enforcement agencies to obtain access, especially when someone's life hangs in the balance? Well, first of all, websites like ancestry.com and 23andMe say that they do not allow law enforcement to access their data unless there's what is known as a binding court order, but it's kind of patchwork across different states of what is actually allowed and what would constitute a binding court order to get that information. And so, you do have those hurdles at play. But there have been notorious efforts to try to breach those data terms of service in order to get information.

What do you think about that, Michael, the idea of using genealogy? Most people are opting into these different databases with the intent that privacy will be sacred. And then you have instances, either through the sale of the company or otherwise, where people aren't so sure.

HARRIGAN: Yes. I think the public has to have confidence that their genetic information is safeguarded, and that's an important thing to all Americans on that. But it also has to be accessible to law enforcement with the right court order when there's probable cause to believe it can help save someone's life, especially in this instance.

So, I think it's a balance there. But as long as a court order is required, I think Americans can have -- should have a higher degree of confidence in the security of that information.

SKULE: But Michael, that's not dissimilar than other civil liberties that happen where you inhibit somebody, you detain somebody, you search somebody's residence, all rights under the Constitution, unless you have a court order. Very similar.

HARRIGAN: Absolutely.

COATES: Important point. Let's go to John from New York who asked this question: Can they tell what make and model the gun is? You know what? I actually asked our firearms expert, Stephen Gutowski, last week if he could determine the make and model. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN GUTOWSKI, CNN CONTRIBUTOR, GUN SAFETY INSTRUCTOR, FIREARMS REPORTER FOR THERELOAD.COM: From the video, it appears to be a compact or subcompact semi-automatic pistol. You know, obviously, we don't have a high-resolution image of it. But the profile to me, my first instinct is to say it looks like a Sig Sauer P365. And, of course, also, there are a number of other pistols that have a similar shape.

COATES: Yes.

GUTOWSKI: So, you can't really say for sure that it's that model. They're smaller than traditional large full-sized firearm. And so, that's what makes them so popular. They're also fairly affordable. You know, they're made for mass market production.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Michael, do you agree?

HARRIGAN: I do agree with that.

COATES: Kim from Montclair, New Jersey asks, why aren't we hearing more from the FBI? The face of the investigation seems to be the local chief who doesn't seem to know too much. What are your thoughts on that? Why aren't we hearing from the FBI more?

SKULE: Well, the sheriff is leading this investigation. There's nothing that has been determined that this has gone interstate. So, the sheriff would have primary jurisdiction. Just because there's intense media scrutiny doesn't mean that the FBI is going to jump to the front of an investigation. There are laws that support that. And, as we know, they have to go interstate. But we also have seen early on a press conference where the special agent in charge and the sheriff were standing up there together early on.

COATES: Dreama from Indiana asked this question: How did the kidnapper get in the house? We still actually don't know. It's unclear how that happened or what they're actually telling the public. The sheriff was asked the other week if there were signs of forced entry. He said, we're not discussing that at all.

Also, we got Mary from Hughes, Arkansas, who asked, I would like to know where Nancy's black dog is, the one in the photo with her. Well, that dog actually belongs to Savannah Guthrie, we understand.

I have Laurie who asked this question: Why wouldn't the family go ahead and pay the person claiming to know Nancy's whereabouts? Gentlemen, what do you think, Michael?

HARRIGAN: Well, I think that the problem here with claims that come in from the public saying that they know where someone is or they have specific case information, you have to be careful of that. You have to vet that. You have to make sure that that individual actually has the information.

And the problem with paying people for information is you just don't know because you want that information, or when money is paid for information, you want to be assured that that's going to result in, you know, valid information that can lead to investigative leads.

So, you got to be really careful there because there's a lot of people out there that are willing to say they have information in order for financial gain or to gain some type of recognition or other reasons that are above board.

COATES: So exploitative.

SKULE: And I would say also, I mean, just to jump on that, unfortunately, in times of crisis, we see other predators come out and take advantage of the victims. Law enforcement would instruct the family to be very, very careful before they went and just errantly paid somebody without any proof that it was valid.

[23:55:01] COATES: Oh, my God. Josh, Michael, thank you both so much. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES: The combined reward for information that helps find Nancy Guthrie is now more than $200,000. If you know anything that could help bring her home, dial 1-800-CALL-FBI or visit tips.fbi.gov.

[00:00:00]

You can also call the local sheriff's department at 520-351-4900.

And remember, there are thousands of other families who need help finding their loved ones. You can learn about them at fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap. Each person has a story and a direct number to call if you have any information that could help.

That's all for us tonight. I'll see you here again tomorrow. "The Story Is with Elex Michaelson" is next.