The man detained for questioning in the abduction of Nancy Guthrie was heading toward the U.S.–Mexico border when Pima County sheriff's deputies, working with the FBI, stopped him, law enforcement sources said. Authorities pulled him over and took him in for questioning after a chase, sources said.
The man was stopped in a small border community about 60 miles south of Nancy Guthrie's home and just nine miles from the border. Sources said it's still unclear whether the man was trying to flee to Mexico. His identity has not been revealed, and authorities have not said whether he is considered a suspect but his home is presently being raided.
Suspect Nabbed at Last
Authorities believe he isn't a member of the Guthrie family, and he has not been formally named a suspect. FBI Director Kash Patel later confirmed that federal agents are investigating "persons of interest," which he shared during an appearance on Fox News Tuesday night.
"Without polluting the investigation, I will say we have made substantial progress in these last 36-48 hours, thanks to the technical capabilities of the FBI and our partnerships and I do believe we are looking at people who, as we say, are persons of interest," Patel said.
The breakthrough came just hours after federal authorities released chilling doorbell camera footage from the home of "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie's mother on the night she was abducted.
The video shows a masked, armed figure wearing black latex gloves and a backpack. The person is seen fiddling with the Nest doorbell camera before forcefully tearing it off the door frame. By the time sheriff's deputies arrived later that morning, the camera was gone.
It was still not clear on Tuesday night whether the person taken in for questioning was the same man seen in the surveillance video. TMZ reported that the detained person is not part of the Guthrie family.
Everything Still Unclear
However, federal authorities are looking at more than one "person of interest," FBI Director Kash Patel told the outlet on Tuesday night. He said the FBI's work with private-sector partners has suggested there may be "persons of interest" in and around the area connected to the case.
Patel did not name anyone specifically but explained that investigators are methodically ruling out people who may not be involved. He stressed that the agency's top priority is locating Nancy, followed closely by identifying and apprehending anyone tied to the kidnapping so they can be held accountable.
As part of the effort, local SWAT units, a bomb squad, and the FBI's elite Hostage Rescue Team have been deployed to the city.
This came as a woman living in the Rio Rico home now being searched in connection with the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie said her son-in-law was detained earlier in the day during a traffic stop.
Visibly confused, the woman—who was not identified—told ABC15 reporter Lillian Donahue that investigators "keep going in and out of my house, taking pictures, and I don't know why," according to a video shared on X.
"They showed me a video to see if it was him, to see ... if I recognize the things he was wearing, he doesn't have any of that. He doesn't have anything that comes in the video," she said of surveillance footage she was shown from outside the missing 84-year-old's home.
When asked whether the person seen in the surveillance footage resembled her son-in-law, the woman said it did not, responding, "No, it doesn't look like him. No, not at all."
