FBI center sees spike in leads after Nancy Guthrie video release

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. - The FBI's release of a video from Nancy Guthrie's house has sparked a surge in leads for law enforcement.

These leads are directed to the National Threat Operations Center, or N-TOC, where the process of handling them begins.

Calls to the FBI, like the familiar 800-CALL-FBI, are answered in Clarksburg, West Virginia, at the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services.

Threat intake examiners review each call or electronic submission, analyzing and investigating to build a lead package.

Grel Nelsen, a former FBI agent, said, "Our threat intake examiners evaluate the information in those electronic tips and phone calls, do some analysis, and then determine where that information needs to go for further action. Most often that's either a field office and in some cases it's a law enforcement partner."

The team prioritizes leads based on their importance or immediacy, not the order they are received.

Even after initial leads are addressed, analysts continue to piece together information, hoping to create follow-on leads.

Every investigation is like a puzzle, and each lead could be the key piece to solving it.