How "signal sniffer" technology is being used in the search for Nancy Guthrie

3 hours ago 3

Investigators are utilizing a tracking instrumentality called a "signal sniffer" that tin observe signals emitted from physics devices arsenic the hunt for Nancy Guthrie continues successful its 3rd week.

David Kennedy, a erstwhile NSA hacker and inventor of the awesome sniffer being utilized successful the investigation, told CBS News that due to the fact that Guthrie's pacemaker was disconnected from the app connected her phone, it indicates the instrumentality is equipped with Bluetooth Low Energy technology, a powerfulness mounting designed truthful the instrumentality volition past aggregate years.

Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old parent of "Today" amusement co-host Savannah Guthrie, was reported missing erstwhile she failed to amusement up for religion connected Feb. 1, aft vanishing successful the mediate of the nighttime from her location successful Tucson, Arizona, successful an evident abduction. Authorities said Guthrie's pacemaker was disconnected from the pacemaker app connected her cellphone astatine 2:28 a.m.

Kennedy said Bluetooth Low Energy lone has a 10- to 15-foot radius, but with awesome amplifiers and high-gain antennas, the radius tin widen to respective 100 feet.

He said aft conducting a trial astatine his location utilizing a non-commercial drone and off-the-shelf items to modify it, helium was capable to widen the device's detection scope to astir 800 feet.

"With amplification, with the quality to deploy things similar drones oregon leveraging helicopters, they should beryllium capable to screen a batch larger country and past truly location successful conscionable from a fewer meters to the existent awesome itself," Kennedy told CBS News.

Since the pacemaker sends retired a Bluetooth awesome each 2 to 3 minutes, the awesome sniffer tin prime up its location, Kennedy said, which instrumentality enforcement would beryllium capable to presumption and hint utilizing Nancy Guthrie's phone.

The tracking instrumentality was mounted connected a chopper connected Monday, instrumentality enforcement sources told CBS News. The chopper carrying the instrumentality was flying dilatory astatine a debased altitude implicit the country wherever investigators are inactive hoping to find Guthrie, the sources said.

Kennedy said helium believes the chopper was utilized arsenic a speedy stopgap to get a wide determination to spot what was happening successful the area. He said a awesome sniffer could beryllium fixed to a drone oregon a car, though a drone is much businesslike due to the fact that it tin screen greater distances faster, and that utilizing a chopper oregon car could interfere with the awesome owed to metallic buildings oregon factual walls.

Since awesome sniffers are considered a caller capableness for instrumentality enforcement, Kennedy said officials don't person monolithic fleets of drones being used, and that it volition instrumentality clip to physique retired the infrastructure to bash so. He said if determination were astir 50 to 60 drones covering 300 to 800 feet, it would velocity up the process.

"You tin truly chopped that clip down beauteous substantially crossed the board, you're astir apt talking, a time oregon a fewer days oregon a maximum of 2 weeks of being capable to screen 120-foot-mile radius, to beryllium capable to really place it," Kennedy said. "It truly comes down to manpower, drone operators [and] the drone exertion itself."

Jonathan Vigliotti and Pat Milton contributed to this report.

In: