A person has been taken into custody for questioning in connection with the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department announced Tuesday evening that the person was taken into custody during a traffic stop in Rio Rico, Arizona, south of Tucson and near the Mexican border.
The department also announced that, with assistance from the FBI Evidence Response Team, it had obtained a search warrant for a location in Liorico related to the investigation.
“This operation is expected to last several hours. Details are unknown at this time,” they said in a statement.
The person has not yet been identified, but TMZ reports that the person is not a member of the Guthrie family. The newspaper said the person was a man.
Additionally, FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed during a Fox News appearance Tuesday night that federal agents are investigating a “person of interest.”
“Without tainting the investigation, I can say that thanks to the technical capabilities of the FBI and our partnership, we have made significant progress in the last 36 to 48 hours. We are confident that we are focusing on what we call a person of interest,” he explained.
This update came after horrifying photos and videos of the potential suspect were released by the FBI on February 10th. However, it is not clear whether the detained person is the one in the photo and video.
Images showed an armed person wearing a ski mask tampering with Nancy’s home surveillance camera the morning she was reported missing.
At a Feb. 5 press conference, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told reporters that investigators are “actively looking at all of them” as suspects.
Savannah Guthrie/Instagram
“So does that mean we have a strong suspect? No,” he added, noting that the Guthrie family had been “very cooperative.”
Nancy disappeared from her Arizona home on January 31st after being dropped off by her son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, after a family dinner. The matriarch was last seen at around 9.30pm, causing concern when she failed to turn up at church on the morning of February 1st.
The next day, Nanos acknowledged in a press conference that the 84-year-old’s Tucson home was being treated as a crime scene due to “very disturbing” circumstances.
Savannah, 54, said in a statement at the time: “On behalf of my family, I would like to thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers and messages of support. Right now, our focus is on the safe return of our beloved mother.”
Later that night, the NBC personality asked her Instagram followers to pray for her mother’s safe return.
Remarkably, the journalist left broadcasting while dealing with a family crisis and withdrew from hosting the Winter Olympics.
Nanos revealed on February 3 that Nancy was believed to have been “removed from her home against her will, possibly in the middle of the night.”
The sheriff’s office previously emphasized Nancy’s “sound mind” and described her as “an elderly woman in her mid-80s with a medical condition… She was unable to advance more than 50 yards.”
The Los Angeles Times reported that the home showed signs of forced entry, and NewsNation published footage that appeared to show what appeared to be blood stains outside the front door. Nanos later admitted at a press conference on February 5th that the blood belonged to Nancy.
Throughout the investigation, Nanos consistently expressed hope that Nancy was still alive.
He said on February 4 that “the clock is ticking” because Nancy’s “vital” medicines were left behind, meaning her alleged abductors had “put her at great risk”.
Multiple ransom notes were sent to local news outlets, allegedly containing gruesome details about Nancy’s home and what she was wearing before her disappearance.
Savannah, Annie and Camron filmed an emotional Instagram video on February 4th, expressing their love to their mother and saying they were “ready to talk” to the suspects who demanded millions of dollars in Bitcoin.
Kamron did the same in an additional video on February 5th, and two days later she and her sisters made a third plea.
In a Feb. 7 upload, Savannah said, “Please give me back my mother now so we can celebrate together. This is the only way we can have peace. This is so precious to us and we will pay.”
Before the Feb. 9 ransom deadline, Savannah begged for help finding her mother, as there was still no suspect.
Meanwhile, NBC reportedly has increased security and police presence at its “tense” New York City studio out of “high alert.”
Savannah’s co-hosts expressed on air how “rattled” they felt, with Sheinelle Jones saying, “A lot of us (are) having trouble sleeping.”
Journalists, including former co-anchor Hoda Kotb, responded by sending love to Savannah, a Daytime Emmy winner, and “leaning in” to her family, according to Nanos.
