ARIZONA — Authorities have released the person they detained for questioning in connection with the search for Nancy Guthrie, the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie.
Law enforcement officials pulled over a person at a traffic stop in a community about an hour south of Tucson on Tuesday night and detained them for questioning.
The traffic stop resulted in investigators not only searching that person’s car, but also their home.
The mother-in-law spoke to reporters while investigators searched the home—saying it was her son-in-law who was being detained—but claims her family has nothing to do with this case and they don’t even know who Nancy Guthrie is.
“We don’t know her, I don’t know who she is, I don’t know anything about her,” the mother-in-law told reporters.
“They only told me they got a tip and she’s at my house, and I said you can go in and search my house, I’ve got nothing to hide, there’s nobody in my house, and I don’t know what’s going on.”
This all happened hours after officials released surveillance photos and videos recovered from Nancy Guthrie’s doorbell camera.
It shows a masked person who appeared to be armed.
The FBI believes that the person may have tampered with the camera the morning of her disappearance.
A criminologist on CNN said it’s expected that police will be receiving a bunch of new leads after releasing the images, and they have to investigate everything.
“A lot of these tips are not going to pan out, a criminologist said on CNN. “They may be well-intentioned, but wrong. They may be bad-intentioned, like ‘hey, I’m going to get my cousin Carlos in trouble cause he kind of looks like this guy. They have to just take everything seriously.”
The woman whose son-in-law was briefly detained said he is a delivery driver. He told reporters he may have delivered a package to Nancy’s house, but that’s it, and he doesn’t know her. He has not been charged with anything.
Even though Nancy Guthrie has now been missing since February 1st, when she wasn’t at church, her family believes the 84-year-old is still alive.
Savannah Guthrie just posted another video, pleading with the public to help find her mother.
Investigators have said for more than a week that they believe Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will. She was last seen at home January. 31 and reported missing the next day.
DNA tests showed blood on her porch was hers, authorities said.
She has high blood pressure and issues with mobility and her heart, and she needs daily medication, officials have said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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