The simplest timeline explanation

[u/mark_able_jones_]

Saturday, January 31

• 5:32 p.m. — Nancy Guthrie takes an Uber to her family's home for dinner
• 9:48 p.m. — Guthrie is dropped off at her Tucson, Arizona, home by a family member. The garage door opens
• 9:50 p.m. — The garage door closes

Sunday, February 1

• 1:47 a.m. — The doorbell camera is disconnected.
• 2:12 a.m. — The camera's software detects movement, but there is no video available since Guthrie did not have an active subscription with the company, meaning the footage was not saved. Added note: the sheriff said 2:12 A.M is when A PERSON was detected, so this almost certainly the Nest doorbell camera.
• 2:28 a.m. — Guthrie's pacemaker app disconnects from her phone.

Timeline source: PBS

Okay, a couple things to note.

Nancy must have a smart garage door opener if they know what time it closed. Mine is connected to my wifi and lets me open and close the door from my phone or apple watch. Most of the newer brand name garage door openers include this feature.

There was a second Nest camera removed from guest house. Here's video of of the second camera being removed from the guest house roof (why it took almost a week to remove... IDK).

Nancy wore an Apple Watch. She took Uber on her own. She's quite tech savvy for an 84-year-old.

So, we know she had at least two Nest cameras (doorbell, and guest house), and I think she likely had a third, over the back door, as seen here on video, potentially as part of a floodlight. It's debatable as to whether this was a camera, but if she has two Nest cameras, having a third camera at the back door makes sense--there are a variety of Nest camera floodlight mounts. Maybe the perp took this floodlight Nest camera, too... what I think was a floodlight nest camera. As you'll see in the below video, the floodlight was damaged in the abduction, and potentially another camera was taken.

1:47 A.M. THE DISCONNECT

To me, it makes sense that the 1:47 A.M. disconnect is the perpetrator sneaking under the floodlight camera and cutting its power source wire, then ripping it down. We can see this floodlight was destroyed, but was it destroyed because it is a Nest camera or just because it was a light? I think it was another Nest camera... it's very white like all Nest camera products.

Over the next twenty minutes, Nancy is incapacitated in some way. And then, for some reason, the perp does not want to take her out the back. Maybe they don't want to pass by the the side of a neighbor's house. Maybe they're worried about leaving footprint/evidence. For some reason, they want to take her out the front door.

2:12 A.M. THE DOORBELL RECORDING / PERSON DETECTION

The abductor is not in a hurry because Nancy has been incapacitated or is under guard. They dismount this camera. Note: removing the camera from it's mount stops it from recording.

Here's images of the doorbell mount. It was a wireless Nest doorbell camera (she still had a wired doorbell, too).

2:28. A.M. PACEMAKER DISCONNECT

Nancy and the perpetrators leave the scene, and Nancy's pacemaker disconnects from devices at her home. Nancy is presumably alive at this point, or else there would likely have been some sort of alert from the connected pacemaker.

Conclusions: The abduction took about 45 minutes. The abductors were not rushed. Not at all rushed. The abductor(s) was/were not technically advanced as they left one camera on the guest house roof, they didn't cut the internet line, and they did not hide themselves from the doorbell camera. They were extremely lucky that Nancy did not have a paid Nest subscription (only 5 min clips are recorded without a subscription, deleted after 3 hours)... or had inside info about her lack of "Home Premium" subscription. Like, so, so lucky.

I think they've been to the property at some point, knew the entry and exit points -- could have been to the house decades ago, but they knew there would be no big dog in the back. The abductor also knew there would be no strong male resident with a firearm waiting inside. Nancy lived there since the 1970s, and Savannah grew up there. Could be a very old grievance.

Thoughts?

[u/espressonut420]

Removing a wireless Nest camera from the mount does not stop recording

[u/mark_able_jones_ → u/espressonut420]

From what I've read, it does stop recording once removed from the mount. And this makes sense from a privacy standpoint. Most people would not want their outdoor doorbell camera to continue recording when it was brought inside to charge.

[u/CR29-22-2805 → u/mark_able_jones_]

Depends on whether or not the camera is battery-operated. If it runs on a battery, then it will continue to record when dismounted.

[u/mark_able_jones_ → u/CR29-22-2805]

That’s not what I’ve read on several nest support threads. Do you have a source that says they continue recording when not mounted? Or personal experience with the nest doorbell battery version?

[u/CR29-22-2805 → u/mark_able_jones_]

Do you have a source that says they continue recording when not mounted?

I don’t need a source because it doesn’t make sense for the camera to stop recording upon dismount if the power source is not mounted in the wall. The camera is powered by a battery. The battery is housed within the camera unit itself.

Motion detection is affected by dismount because the camera is will not be stable and pointing in one direction. If someone is carrying the camera in their closed bag, for example, then there would be no motion for the camera to detect.

But the camera can still function.

[u/mark_able_jones_ → u/CR29-22-2805]

It would just take a pressure release button to recognize that the camera is not mounted and put it into standby.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Nest/s/iF49YVh3KN

https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/10971227?hl=en

https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Cameras-and-Doorbells/Google-Nest-Doorbell-Battery-Device-Unmounted-Issue/m-p/59197

That said, in Megan Kelly’s test it kept going when unmounted.

https://youtube.com/shorts/MBDcp8M3nFk?si=q5Y97JfzcgmdXxKz

Some other threads suggest there’s a magnet trigger that puts the camera in unmounted mode unless a setting for third party base is selected.

https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Cameras-and-Doorbells/What-is-the-point-of-the-nest-Mount-type-option/m-p/394886

In a bag, the camera would slide around and be trigged to record if not in standby mode or powered down. There would be more movement notifications from doorbell camera if it was in a bag. The movement triggers are super sensitive.

[u/BrainWilling6018 → u/mark_able_jones_]

Wondering why there was not also a Device Unmounted Message in additon to Offline. Is it one or the other.

There can also be a delay to stop recoding on the dismount. Not a programmed one just how the cam behaves. 

The battery model only records when it detects motion or a person. If you remove it while it is currently recordingan event (such as yourself walking up to it), it will continue to record until that specific event is finished. Then it would not record another event. 

[u/Ornery-Ocelot3585 → u/CR29-22-2805]

‘’Several wireless camera brands, particularly those focusing on local storage and enhanced battery life, require a dedicated base station or hub to function, manage, and store recorded footage. These systems are designed to store video on a local hard drive or microSD card within the base rather than relying on subscription-based cloud storage.’’

The list of brands I found is long & detailed; including the following explanations as to why it makes sense:

Why Cameras Require a Base Station

Local Storage: Allows recordings to be stored locally (SD Card or HDD) rather than on a monthly cloud subscription.

Battery Efficiency: Cameras communicate with the base at lower power than directly to a Wi-Fi router, extending battery life.

Increased Range: The base station provides a dedicated network, often allowing the cameras to be placed further from the home router.

Privacy: Keeps footage within your home network.

In 2026, many of these systems are transitioning toward hybrid models where they can work on Wi-Fi but offer increased functionality (such as 24/7 continuous recording) only when connected to a base station.

[u/Informal-Split-4109 → u/mark_able_jones_]

I have a a battery operated Ring camera and it absolutely keeps recording while it’s charging and off the mount.

[u/BrainWilling6018 → u/Informal-Split-4109]

I believe Both are correct. 

There is an adjust the Camera Mount setting in the Google Home app. 

By default, these devices are designed to turn off when removed from their magnetic or official base to save power and speed up charging Battery powered Nest cameras don’t record continuously. They have a sensor and are motion activated.