Authorities have released an individual who was briefly detained for questioning in Rio Rico, Arizona, on Tuesday evening, following the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, according to official reports.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that deputies stopped a vehicle south of Tucson, near the U.S.-Mexico border, after the FBI shared surveillance footage depicting a masked figure, seemingly armed with a handgun holster, outside Guthrie’s residence on the night she went missing.
In addition to the traffic stop, law enforcement conducted a court-sanctioned search at a Rio Rico home. This community, located about an hour south of Tucson and 15 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, was under investigation. Authorities anticipated the search would take several hours on Tuesday night. By Wednesday morning, investigators had vacated the scene, removed police tape, and cleared the area.
A resident at the searched property, who identified himself as Carlos Palazuelos, spoke to Fox News. He confirmed he was the individual detained during the traffic stop but has since been released and returned home.
On Tuesday, February 10, 2026, sheriff’s officials blocked a road leading to the Rio Rico residence as part of their investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
Speaking to Fox News, Palazuelos, a package delivery worker in Tucson, asserted his innocence regarding Guthrie’s disappearance. He mentioned that investigators questioned him about his whereabouts and confiscated his phone before releasing him.
Palazuelos said it was a “possibility” he may have delivered a package to Guthrie’s residence.
He said law enforcement showed one of his in-laws a photo of a masked person seen in surveillance footage on Guthrie’s property and that it “supposedly looked like my eyes.”
“That’s it. That’s all I know,” Palazuelos said.
The FBI on Tuesday released short surveillance clips showing a masked person wearing a backpack and what appeared to be a handgun holster outside Guthrie’s home the night she disappeared. At one point, the individual appears to tilt their head away from a doorbell camera, hold a flashlight in their mouth and attempt to cover the lens with a gloved hand and what looked like part of a plant pulled from the yard.
This image released by the FBI show an armed individual appearing to have tampered with the camera at Nancy Guthrie’s front door the morning of her disappearance in Tuscon, Arizona, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (Provided by FBI)
Investigators have said for more than a week that they believe Guthrie was taken against her will. She was last seen at her home on Jan. 31 and was reported missing the next day. DNA testing determined that blood found on her porch belonged to her, authorities have said.
An FBI billboard in Albuquerque, N.M., raising awareness about the search for missing Nancy Guthrie. (KRQE)
Guthrie, 84, is the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie. Her disappearance on Feb. 1 has drawn national attention. Savannah Guthrie and her two siblings have released multiple video statements pleading for their mother’s return and indicating a willingness to pay a ransom, while asking for proof that she is alive.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said Nancy Guthrie is mentally sound but has limited mobility and takes several medications, raising concerns about her health if she does not have access to them.
The FBI has begun posting digital billboards in several major cities seeking tips, and officials have urged anyone with information to contact investigators.
