Search for Nancy Guthrie highlights value of home security

LEXINGTON, Ky. — More than 10 days into the search for Nancy Guthrie, federal agents are turning to doorbell-camera footage to track a possible suspect.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has released less than a minute of footage from Nancy Guthrie’s Arizona home Google Nest doorbell camera, which is being used in the national investigation into her disappearance.

 Since 2014, Justin Wiese has owned and operated Kentucky Secured, a home security system company based in Lexington. Wiese said he’s spent the last decade establishing a business centered on community safety in his hometown.

He said today’s security systems protect people at nearly every stage of life and in any circumstance, including home invasions. 

“When I meet with a homeowner, it’s all different spans of life. It’s a single female who just graduated from college, living on her own for the first time, to a retired couple that’s traveling. But my very first question is, what’s your biggest concern when you’re at home or when you’re away,” Wiese said.

Wiese said that from cameras, sensors and detectors to entry and exit security devices, home security technology has improved over the years, moving beyond simple alert systems that could still leave homes vulnerable.   

“A traditional alarm system used to be tied to your phone line, which most people don’t have a home phone anymore. So, I always joke about the old Lifetime movies, they would go on the side of the house and cut your phone line,” Wiese said. 

He said that modern systems connect to Wi-Fi, allow external storage, and send notifications directly to mobile devices. 

“The keypad is going to send a text message. Anything, any hour, anytime, anything happens. This is connected to my Wi-Fi. So we’ve got two paths of communication that if something were to happen, we’re able to still get that signal out and things like that,” he said. 

Wiese said that the latest security networks also allow for video deterrence. 

“So now when you go to bed at night, and you arm your alarm system, you’re also arming your camera system too,” Wiese said. 

That allows those who choose to share their cameras with local law enforcement, which Wiese said can be helpful for small businesses, churches or places that need after-hours monitoring. 

“If it senses activity after hours, after 11 p.m., then that signal, just like an alarm signal, is going to go to the monitoring station. Now you have a live person who’s going to look at your cameras and can determine if this is an actual threat,” Wiese said. “Or is this maybe just a homeowner walking out, or the neighbors walking their dog, or something like that?”

He said as a family man and someone who travels for work, having reliable security measures is more than just a sense of protection.

“Life protection, that life safety stuff, is really important to me,” Wiese said. 

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information that helps find Guthrie or leads to an arrest.