A man who had been arrested as a suspect in the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of 'NBC' host Savannah Guthrie, was questioned for hours on the night of Tuesday, February 10, and later released, so the Police continue the search for an "armed individual," reported the Pima County Sheriff's Department, in Arizona. The information comes a day after the FBI released a video of a hooded man forcing entry into the octogenarian's door.

First modification: 02/11/2026 - 18:12

A man arrested during a traffic stop south of Tucson, Arizona, in the southwestern United States, was questioned on the night of Tuesday, February 10, as the alleged perpetrator of the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of television presenter Savannah Guthrie, the Pima County Sheriff's Department reported.

County agents and an FBI forensic team, authorized by a court, searched a "location" in Rio Rico, Arizona, the city where the suspect resides, about 95 kilometers south of Tucson, near the border with Mexico.

The authorities have not explained the reasons for the man's detention nor have they confirmed his release, although multiple American media outlets have confirmed it, including the 'AP' agency, the 'NBC' and 'CNN' networks.

In fact, a Hispanic man who introduced himself only as Carlos and claimed to have been questioned by the Police, assured several media outlets that he was "innocent" of Guthrie's disappearance and added that he hopes "they find the suspect."

To display this content from X (Twitter), you must allow audience measurement and advertising cookies.

Authorities did not provide details to confirm whether the man questioned Tuesday is the same man who appears in a surveillance video outside Guthrie's home on the day of his disappearance.

New videos reveal an armed and masked person

Nancy Guthrie's doorbell camera captured a masked man with a wool balaclava, gloves, a backpack and a gun at his waist at the doors of the elderly woman's home in the early hours of February 1.

The man seems to notice that he is being recorded by the camera, so he covers it with his hand, before using some plants to block the recording of the device. A fleeting fragment, before the man hides the camera, reveals a mustache through the gap in the mouth of the balaclava. The individual has his head lowered as he approaches the door, suggesting he knew the location of the camera, according to a police source cited by Reuters.

Presenter Savannah Guthrie broadcast the images of the hooded man in her mother's house, along with the contact numbers of the FBI and the sheriff, as a request for help in identifying the subject. "Someone who recognizes this person. We believe she is still at large. Bring her home," he wrote.

The revelation of the new footage came after authorities initially claimed that no video was available, as Guthrie did not have an active subscription to the doorbell camera company.

However, computer forensics experts scrutinized the images in the back-end software, which may have been lost, corrupted or inaccessible, which was described by FBI Director Kash Patel as a "success." The official described images of "an armed individual who appears to have tampered with the camera on Nancy Guthrie's front door on the morning of her disappearance."

Read alsoThe kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie: what do the images published by the FBI reveal?

No response from possible kidnappers

An email related to Nancy Guthrie's kidnapping was sent to Tucson television station 'KOLD' on Friday, February 6, leading to a third Guthrie family video on Saturday.

“We will pay,” said Savannah Guthrie.

But on Monday, she took a more somber tone, appearing alone and addressing the public directly, not the kidnapper.

“We are in a moment of desperation (...) We need your help,” he stressed.

FBI spokesman Connor Hagan stated that same day that the agency was unaware of ongoing communication between Guthrie's family and the alleged kidnappers.

And a notable change in tone has been observed in the four videos that the Guthrie family has published during the last week.

To display this Instagram content, you must allow advertising and audience measurement cookies.

Initially, Savannah Guthrie and her two brothers appeared to be speaking directly to their mother's alleged kidnapper, after several media outlets reportedly received ransom notes demanding money for Nancy Guthrie's safe return. Authorities stated that the writings were being seriously investigated.

The first two videos appeared to be a direct response to possible ransom notes.

"We are willing to talk. However, we live in a world where voices and images are easily manipulated (...) We need to know for sure that she is alive and that you have her. We want to hear from you and we are willing to listen," said Savannah Guthrie in a video published on February 4.

Camron Guthrie, his brother, reiterated that request in another video the next day.

Read alsoWhat happened to Nancy Guthrie?: Mother of US TV host has been missing for more than a week

A quiet neighborhood in Arizona, the scene of the apparent kidnapping

Nancy Guthrie lived alone in the exclusive Catalina Foothills neighborhood, where houses are spaced far apart and set back from the street by long driveways, gates, and dense desert vegetation.

The Guthrie family reported the octogenarian missing after she did not attend church on February 1. Evidence collected at the home, including a blood stain from Nancy Guthrie confirmed by DNA, led authorities to conclude that the woman was taken from her home against her will.

Host Savannah Guthrie has made social media a vehicle to communicate with the person responsible for her mother's kidnapping, even requesting proof of survival, almost always accompanied by her two siblings, Annie and Camron Guthrie.

Nancy Guthrie lived alone in the exclusive Catalina Foothills neighborhood, where the houses are far apart. There she was last seen on the night of Saturday, January 31, after her family left her after a shared dinner. Hours later, the pacemaker app Guthrie uses lost connection to his cell phone.

Since then, updates on the Guthrie case have been reported daily by the American press. On Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt described President Donald Trump as having experienced "pure disgust" upon seeing the images of the kidnapper and encouraged anyone with information to contact the FBI.

FBI digital billboards about the Nancy Guthrie case begin to light up major cities, from Texas to California.

Read also"Is she alive?": what is known about the kidnapping of the mother of a popular US TV presenter.

With Reuters, AP and local media

Related keywords

The content you requested does not exist or is no longer available.