Federal and local authorities in Arizona widened their search for Nancy Guthrie after releasing newly recovered security images showing an armed, masked person at the 84-year-old’s Tucson home on the night she disappeared, and after detaining and questioning an individual during a traffic stop near the US-Mexico border.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said a subject was detained during a traffic stop south of Tucson and was being questioned in connection with the investigation into Guthrie’s disappearance. Later reports said the detained man was released after several hours. Investigators also carried out a court-authorised search of a residence in Rio Rico, a small community in southern Arizona near the border, with FBI personnel assisting on scene.
The developments came as the FBI released the first publicly shared images and video connected to what authorities are now treating as a suspected kidnapping, after Guthrie vanished from her home in late January. The newly recovered footage, recorded by a doorbell-style camera at the front of the house, shows a person wearing a full face covering, gloves and dark clothing approaching the entrance while carrying a firearm and a backpack, then appearing to tamper with or obstruct the camera.
FBI Director Kash Patel posted still images from the footage online, saying: “The video was recovered from residual data located in backend systems.” In the same post, he said law enforcement had uncovered “previously inaccessible new images showing an armed individual appearing to have tampered with the camera at Nancy Guthrie’s front door the morning of her disappearance,” adding that investigators were working with partners as the search continued.
Guthrie, the mother of NBC “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, was last known to have been at her Tucson-area home on 31 January. Authorities have said she vanished during a narrow overnight window into 1 February, and investigators have since searched the surrounding neighbourhood, interviewed residents and analysed evidence from inside and outside the house.
Savannah Guthrie has repeatedly appealed for information publicly, sharing the surveillance images with her followers and urging anyone who recognises the person in the footage to contact investigators. “Someone out there recognizes this person. We believe she is still out there. Bring her home,” she wrote in a social media post, asking people with information to call the FBI tip line and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.
Officials have not publicly identified any suspect linked to the newly released footage, and investigators have said they were asking for public help to identify the individual shown near the home. Law enforcement officials have also cautioned that the case remains active and that many details, including the precise sequence of events captured in the recovered video, are still being established.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department has said it is leading the investigation, with FBI support. On Tuesday night, CBS News reported that local and federal authorities were searching the Rio Rico residence of the person of interest who was detained following the traffic stop, describing the search as being conducted under a court-authorised warrant and expected to take several hours. An FBI spokesperson said the bureau’s Evidence Response Team was assisting in the search and that law enforcement would remain at the location for several hours.
Associated Press also reported that a person had been detained for questioning, citing sheriff’s office statements. The agency reported that law enforcement released images of the masked, armed individual at the front door camera and that the detention represented a potential break in a case that had produced few public leads in the days after Guthrie disappeared.
Authorities have said they recovered the footage after initially being unable to access it. Reporting around the case has noted that the camera’s recordings were not readily available, and investigators have described working with private-sector partners to recover data after the device was apparently removed or disabled.
The investigation has also been complicated by a ransom demand sent to media outlets, according to multiple reports and statements. Authorities have said a note demanded millions of dollars in bitcoin in exchange for Guthrie’s return, and that deadlines contained in the messages passed without any confirmed contact that publicly resolved the case. The FBI has urged the public not to attempt independent negotiations and instead to provide any relevant information through official tip channels.
Police have confirmed that blood found at the scene was linked to Guthrie, an element investigators have described as significant in treating the case as a serious criminal matter. Authorities have not released further details about the circumstances in which the blood was found, nor have they detailed any injuries Guthrie may have sustained, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation.
On Tuesday, the release of the footage fuelled renewed attention on the case across the United States, with investigators fielding an influx of tips. Local officials said they had received a high volume of calls after the images were shared publicly, and urged people to focus on verifiable information, such as recognising the suspect’s clothing, build, movements or other distinguishing features.
The traffic stop and detention that followed later in the day added to the sense of urgency. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department did not immediately disclose the basis for the stop or what information led deputies to focus on the individual. Reports from local outlets described the man as being questioned and his vehicle searched before he was released. A woman at the Rio Rico residence being searched told a local television crew that investigators showed her surveillance footage and asked whether she recognised clothing and items worn by the suspect, saying: “They showed me a video to see if it was him, to see … if I recognize the things he was wearing.”
Authorities have not said whether the person detained was the same individual depicted in the security footage, or whether the stop was connected to another investigative lead. They have also not announced any arrest, formal charge or identification of a suspect.
Savannah Guthrie has remained in Arizona with family members as the search continues. In previous appeals, she has described the family’s fear and hope that her mother is still alive and can be brought home safely. “We are at an hour of desperation,” she said in one Instagram video posted as a deadline linked to the ransom demand approached.
The case has drawn national attention not only because of Guthrie’s connection to a prominent television host, but also because of the unusual combination of a ransom demand, a suspected abduction from a private home and the late recovery of surveillance footage that appears to show an armed person at the door.
Investigators have asked anyone with information to call the FBI via 1-800-CALL-FBI or to submit tips online through the bureau’s official channels, and to contact the Pima County Sheriff’s Department as requested in the family’s public posts. Officials have said even small details could help establish the suspect’s identity or movements, and have urged the public to avoid spreading rumours that could hinder the investigation.
As of early Wednesday, authorities had not announced Guthrie’s location, provided an updated description of her last confirmed movements beyond the timeframe around 31 January, or said whether the newly released footage captured the moment she was taken. The sheriff’s department has said the investigation remains active and that search and evidence-processing efforts are continuing.
