Person detained for police questioning in Nancy Guthrie disappearance

A somebody was detained for inquiring on tues in the snatch of Nancy woody guthrie, hours after the FBI released surveillance videos of a masked person wearing a handgun holster outside Guthrie's front door the night she vanished from her Arizona home.

News outlets later interviewed a man who said he was questioned and released. Authorities have not confirmed that the person they picked up was released.

Officers detained the person during a traffic stop south of Tucson, according to the Pima County Sheriff's Department. It did not immediately provide details about the person or the location.

The FBI referred questions to the sheriff's office.

Nancy Guthrie doorbell footage shows masked person at door

A Phoenix television station, KNXV-TV, interviewed a delivery man who said he had been detained by police on suspicions of kidnapping Guthrie. He said he and his wife pulled the car over when they noticed that police were following them.

The man, who gave only his first name and said he lived in the town of Rio Rico, said he was innocent and that police released him after several hours.

His account could not be independently verified. Local and federal authorities have not confirmed that the person who they had detained was released.

The department and the FBI were conducting a court-authorized search Tuesday night at a location in Rio Rico, about an hour's drive south of Tucson, the department said in a statement. It was expected to take several hours.

Guthrie disappeared on Feb. 1 and since then the case has gripped the nation. Until Tuesday, it seemed authorities were making little headway in determining what happened to the 84-year-old mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie or finding who was responsible.

FBI director Kash Patel said the "armed individual" appeared to "have tampered with the camera." It was not entirely clear whether there was a gun in the holster.

The videos were pulled from data on "back-end systems" after investigators spent days trying to find lost, corrupted or inaccessible images, Patel said.

Authorities believe Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will from her house just outside Tucson. She was last seen there Jan. 31 and reported missing the next day after not attending church.

Investigators had been hopeful that cameras at the home would turn up some evidence about how she went missing, but the doorbell camera was disconnected early on Sunday, Feb. 1.

And while software data recorded movement at the home minutes later, Nancy Guthrie didn't have an active subscription, so none of the footage could be recovered, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos had said.

The video was the first major break in an investigation that has raised more questions than answers, including whether the 84-year-old is still alive. It comes as law enforcement and her family intensified calls for assistance from the public.

Up until now, authorities have released few details, leaving it unclear if ransom notes demanding money with deadlines that have already passed were authentic, and whether the Guthrie family has had any contact with the abductors.

Savannah Guthrie posted the new surveillance images on social media Tuesday with the caption, "We believe she is still alive. Bring her home," and phone numbers for the FBI and county sheriff. Within minutes, the post had thousands of comments.

Guthrie and her family have posted a series of videos over the past week, each striking a different tone. The latest message from Savannah Guthrie, in which she appeared alone, was more bleak. "We are at an hour of desperation," she said Monday, telling the public: "We need your help."

DNA tests showed blood on Nancy Guthrie's front porch was a match to her, the sheriff has said.

Savannah Guthrie makes new video plea to public: 'We need your help'

Authorities say Nancy Guthrie needs daily medication because she has high blood pressure and heart issues, including a pacemaker.

Police were back near Nancy Guthrie's neighbourhood on Tuesday, and local officers and FBI were knocking on doors a few kilometres away in the area where Nancy's daughter Annie Guthrie lives.

Three days after the search began, Savannah Guthrie and her two siblings sent their first public appeal to the kidnappers, telling them, "We want to hear from you and we are ready to listen." In the recorded video, Guthrie said her family was aware of media reports about a ransom letter, but they first wanted proof their mother was alive.

"Please reach out to us," they said.

Law enforcement officials declined to say whether the letters sent to several media outlets were credible but said all tips were being investigated seriously.

The next day, Savannah Guthrie's brother again told the kidnappers to reach out "so we can move forward."

Savannah Guthrie says family ready to pay potential kidnappers ransom for mom's return

"Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We haven't heard anything directly," Camron Guthrie said.

Then, over the past weekend, the family posted another video — one that was more cryptic and generated even more speculation about Nancy Guthrie's fate. "We received your message, and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her," said Savannah Guthrie, flanked by her siblings.

"This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay."

Up to that point, the family's first three videos addressed the kidnappers directly. But just ahead of Monday's deadline spelled out in a purported note, Savannah Guthrie urged people countrywide to be on the lookout "no matter where you are, even if you're far from Tucson, if you see anything, if you hear anything."

Her turn to the public comes as much of the country is closely following the dramatic twists and turns involving the longtime anchor of NBC's morning show.

The FBI this week began posting digital billboards in major cities from Texas to California.

Connor Hagan, a spokesperson for the FBI, said Monday that the agency wasn't aware of ongoing communication between Guthrie's family and the suspected kidnappers.

Authorities also had not identified any suspects or persons of interest, he said.

"Someone has that one piece of information that can help us bring Nancy home."

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