A man who identified himself only as Carlos told ABC15 Arizona’s Ford Hatchett that he was pulled over while DoorDashing in Rio Rico, Arizona, on Feb. 10 and was “detained for kidnapping.”
“I asked, ‘The kidnapping of who?’ and they told me this lady … I don’t know her name,” he said. Hatchett later identified her as Savannah Guthrie’s 84-year-old mom.
“I told [officers], ‘I work in Tucson for GLS. I might have delivered a package to your house, but I never kidnapped anybody,’” Carlos insisted.
After answering questions about Nancy’s disappearance, Carlos said officials told him he was “free to go.” He also told reporters that he wasn’t read his Miranda rights until two hours after being detained and that the handcuffs were so tight they made his wrists swell.
On Tuesday, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department announced they had detained a person for questioning about Nancy’s disappearance.
“This operation is expected to last several hours. No further details at this time,” the department said in a statement.
Authorities reported obtaining a search warrant for a location in Rio Rico connected to the investigation.
Not long before the update, the FBI released home security footage showing an armed, masked person outside Nancy’s home on the night she disappeared. The footage shows the individual on her porch, tampering with the door camera.
Savannah Guthrie later posted images of the suspect on Instagram, pleading for her mother’s safe return.
“We believe she is still alive. Bring her home,” the Today host wrote. “Someone out there recognizes this person. We believe she is still out there. Bring her home.”
Savannah and her family were instructed to place $6 million in a Bitcoin account by a second ransom deadline of 5 p.m. MT/7 p.m. ET on Monday.
Nancy was last seen on Jan. 31 after her daughter, Annie, and son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, dropped her off at her home in Tucson, Arizona, following their daily dinner. Police were alerted to her disappearance when she failed to attend church the next morning.