Investigators searching a location in Arizona in disappearance of Nancy
Guthrie
[February 11, 2026]
By TY O'NEIL, JOHN SEEWER and HALLIE GOLDEN
RIO RICO, Ariz. (AP) — A person was detained for questioning Tuesday in
the kidnapping of Nancy 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.
A Phoenix, Arizona, 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.
Savannah Guthrie 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. 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.
The community of Rio Rico — population 20,000 — is roughly an hour's
drive from Guthrie's home and about 15 miles (24 kilometers) north of
the U.S.-Mexico border.
The videos released earlier Tuesday show a person wearing a ski mask and
a backpack. At one point, they tilt their head down and away from a
doorbell camera while approaching Guthrie's front door. The footage also
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 the yard.
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 “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.”
Tuesday afternoon, authorities were back near 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.
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Sheriff's officials block the entrance to a road where a home was
being searched in Rio Rico, Arizona, on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, in
connection to the investigation of Nancy Guthrie's disappearance.
(AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
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 Guthrie.
Savannah Guthrie posted the new surveillance images on social media
Tuesday, saying the family believes their mother 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, 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.”
___
Golden reported from Seattle and Seewer from Toledo, Ohio.
Associated Press reporters Darlene Superville in Washington, Ed
White in Detroit, and Mike Balsamo, Eric Tucker and Alanna Durkin
Richer in Washington contributed to this report.
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