The father of Gabby Petito has said he sympathizes with Nancy Guthrie’s family as they cope with the same “frustrating” false leads and setbacks that he faced when his daughter disappeared.
Joe Petito recounted how it felt to receive an outpouring of support when his 22-year-old daughter, Gabby, went missing in August 2021 after a cross-country road trip with her fiancé. Tragically, she was later found dead.
“It’s humbling to see so many people try and help your family, which is what Savannah is getting right now with her mom,” Joe Petito said on Fox & Friends Thursday morning, referring to Nancy’s TV presenter daughter.
“But it’s also frustrating, because a lot of times, the information that’s out there… if someone does a bad report and doesn’t give accurate information, a lot of times other people just copy and paste it. And next thing you know, something’s out there that’s not true at all,” he added.
The search for Gabby Petito lasted roughly a month before authorities found her remains. Her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, 23, admitted to killing her in a notebook that was found alongside his remains after he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Now, nearly five years later, experts have drawn parallels between Gabby’s disappearance and the apparent kidnapping of Guthrie, an 84-year-old living in Tucson, Arizona, nearly two weeks ago.
Joe Petito noted the similarities between the cases and offered some words of encouragement to Guthrie’s family, including her daughter, Today show host Savannah Guthrie.
“I just hope that they’re taking their time and listening to each other,” Petito said, noting “outside influences” will often try to give their perspective on the case.
“They’re the only ones who have all the information — or as much as possible,” Petito said.
Petito noted that Nancy Guthrie “needs some medicine and care that she might not be getting.”
“I hope this ends with Nancy coming home safe and sound and whoever did this behind bars,” he added.
The search for Nancy Guthrie entered its 12th day on Thursday, as investigators with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department issued a request for all footage taken from January 1 through February 1 that neighbors within a two-mile radius “deem out of the ordinary.”
“They were just asking some general questions wondering if there was anything, any information we could shed on the Nancy Guthrie issue. Wanted to look around the property and after that, cameras and such,” Ann Adams, a neighbor of Nancy Guthrie’s oldest daughter, Annie Guthrie, told the Associated Press.
“They did ask specifically for the 31st of January and the morning of the first of February and then they wanted to know if we saw anything suspicious on cameras since then,” Adams added.
Authorities believe Nancy Guthrie was taken from her home against her will. The 84-year-old takes several medications that authorities say she could die without.
They also briefly put up a white tent in front of Nancy Guthrie’s front door, where her blood was discovered in the early days of the investigation — and where a doorbell camera captured footage of an “armed” and masked person outside the home the night she went missing.
A day earlier, authorities found a set of gloves near Guthrie’s home, though it was unclear if they matched the ones worn by the masked person caught on camera outside her home; they were submitted for DNA analysis.
Earlier this week, on Tuesday, authorities briefly detained a delivery driver for questioning, though he was released in the early hours of Wednesday.
Savannah Guthrie shared a montage of home video footage of her mom on Instagram Thursday, writing, “Our lovely mom. We will never give up on her. Thank you for your prayers and hope.”
The sheriff’s office said Thursday that there were no scheduled press briefings at this time, but one will be called when there is a significant development in the case.
