This image provided by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, shows a missing person alert for Nancy Guthrie. (Pima County Sheriff’s Department via AP)

RIO RICO, Ariz. (AP) — Fresh surveillance images from Nancy Guthrie’s porch the night she went missing, coupled with intense police activity across Arizona and the detention of a man had raised hopes that authorities were nearing a major break.

By Wednesday, however, the man said he had been released after questioning, leaving it unclear where the investigation stood into last week’s disappearance of Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie.

Just hours after the FBI released videos Tuesday of a person wearing a gun holster, ski mask and backpack and approaching Nancy Guthrie’s home in Tucson, authorities said they had stopped a man near the U.S.-Mexico border for questioning.

The man told several media outlets early Wednesday that he was released after several hours and had nothing to do with Guthrie’s disappearance last week.

Authorities have not said what led them to stop the man and had not confirmed he was released. The sheriff’s department said its deputies and FBI agents also searched a location Tuesday night in Rio Rico, a city south of Tucson where the man lives.

It was the latest twist in an investigation that has gripped the nation since Nancy Guthrie disappeared on Feb. 1. Until Tuesday, it seemed authorities were making little headway in determining what happened to her or finding who was responsible.

The black and white images released by the FBI showing a masked person trying to cover a doorbell camera on Guthrie’s porch marked the first significant break in the case.

The videos — less than a combined minute in length — gave investigators and the public their first glimpse of who was outside Guthrie’s home in the foothills outside Tucson. But the images did not show what happened to her or help determine whether she is still alive.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the videos were pulled from data on “back-end systems” after investigators spent days trying to find lost, corrupted or inaccessible images.

Even though the images do not show the person’s face, investigators are hopeful someone will know who was on the porch that night.

“Even when you have a person who appears to be completely covered, they’re really not. You can see their girth, the shape of their face, potentially their eyes or mouth,” said former FBI agent Katherine Schweit.

Authorities were back near Guthrie’s neighborhood on Tuesday, using vehicles to block her driveway. A few miles away, law enforcement was going door-to-door in the area where daughter Annie Guthrie lives, talking with neighbors as well as walking through a drainage area and examining the inside of a culvert with a flashlight.

Investigators have said for more than a week that they believe Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will. She was last seen at home Jan. 31 and reported missing the next day. DNA tests showed blood on her porch was hers, authorities said.

Savannah Guthrie posted the new surveillance images on social media Tuesday. She said the family believes their mother is still alive and provided phone numbers for the FBI and county sheriff.

The longtime anchor of NBC’s morning show and her two siblings have released a series of video statements pleading for the return of their mother and indicating a willingness to pay a ransom.

It is not known whether ransom notes demanding money with deadlines that have already passed were authentic, and whether the family has had any contact with whoever took Guthrie.

Authorities have described Nancy Guthrie as mentally sound but with limited mobility. She takes several medications and there was concern from the start that she could die without them, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said repeatedly.

 

ORIGINAL:

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — A person has been detained for questioning in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, officials said Tuesday, offering another potential break in a case that has gripped the nation for more than a week.

Deputies detained the person during a traffic stop south of Tucson on Tuesday, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.

The department did not immediately provide additional details. It wasn’t clear if the person being questioned is the person captured on surveillance video outside Guthrie’s house that was released earlier Tuesday.

The FBI referred all questions about a person being detained to the sheriff’s department.

The news came hours after the FBI released surveillance images of a masked person with a handgun holster outside Guthrie’s front door the night she vanished.

The person wearing a backpack and a ski mask can be seen in one of the videos tilting their head down and away from a doorbell camera while nearing an archway at the home of the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie.

The footage shows the person holding a flashlight in their mouth and trying to cover the camera with a gloved hand and part of a plant ripped from Nancy Guthrie’s yard.

The videos — less than a combined minute in length — gave investigators and the public their first glimpse of who was outside Nancy Guthrie’s home just outside Tucson, but the images did not show what happened to her or help determine whether the 84-year-old is still alive.

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.

“This will get the phone ringing for lots of potential leads,” said former FBI agent Katherine Schweit. “Even when you have a person who appears to be completely covered, they’re really not. You can see their girth, the shape of their face, potentially their eyes or mouth.”

By Tuesday afternoon, authorities were back near Nancy Guthrie’s neighborhood, using vehicles to block her driveway. A few miles away, law enforcement was going door-to-door in the area where daughter Annie Guthrie lives, talking with neighbors as well as walking through a drainage area and examining the inside of a culvert with a flashlight.

Investigators have said for more than a week that they believe Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will. She was last seen at home Jan. 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.

Authorities initially could not pull images from camera

Until now, authorities have released few details, leaving it unclear if ransom notes demanding money with deadlines already passed were authentic, and whether the Guthrie family has had any contact with whoever took Nancy Guthrie.

Savannah Guthrie posted the new surveillance images on social media Tuesday, saying the family believes Nancy Guthrie is still alive and offering phone numbers for the FBI and county sheriff. Within minutes, the post had thousands of comments.

Investigators had hoped cameras would turn up evidence right away about how Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her home in an secluded neighborhood.

But the doorbell camera was disconnected early on Feb. 1. While software recorded movement at the home minutes later, Nancy Guthrie did not have an active subscription, so Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos had initially said none of the footage could be recovered. Officials continued working to get the footage.

Savannah Guthrie expressed desperation a day ago

Heartbreaking messages by Savannah Guthrie and her family shifted from hopeful to bleak as they made pleas for whoever took Nancy Guthrie. In a video just ahead of a purported ransom deadline Monday, Savannah Guthrie appeared alone and spoke directly to the public.

“We are at an hour of desperation,” she said. “We need your help.”

Much of the nation is closely following the case involving the longtime anchor of NBC’s morning show.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump watched the new surveillance footage and was in “pure disgust,” encouraging anyone with information to call the FBI.

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

Connor Hagan, a spokesperson for the FBI, said Monday that the agency was not aware of ongoing communication between Guthrie’s family and any suspected kidnappers. Authorities also had not identified any suspects, he said.

Videos from Guthrie siblings appealed directly to whoever took their mom

Three days after the search began, Savannah Guthrie and her two siblings sent their first public appeal to whoever took their mother, saying, “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.

The next day, Savannah Guthrie’s brother again made a plea, saying, “Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We haven’t heard anything directly.”

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.”

___

Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press reporters Darlene Superville in Washington, Ed White in Detroit and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this report.