Suspect in Nancy Guthrie Kidnapping Detained, Then Released After FBI Issues Pics of Strangely Armed Man

The investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie has scored headlines nationwide. The 84-year-old mother of NBC’s Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie apparently has been kidnapped, but unlike the Lindbergh baby, she hasn’t been found. However photos from security system video were released yesterday showing an openly armed person at her door in roughly the time frame of her disappearance. And late Tuesday a man was questioned and released.

Last seen around January 31, Guthrie was reported missing on February 2, 2026 from her home in the Tucson, Arizona. Authorities quickly classified it as a suspected kidnapping or abduction, citing signs of forced entry, her blood found on the porch, and other evidence suggesting she may have been taken against her will.

It’s not every day a family member of a nationally-known TV persona goes missing. The case quickly gained national attention because of her celebrity daughter’s public pleas. The family even released a video offering to pay a ransom. An alleged ransom note surfaced early on, but it’s speculated that it was a bogus note as deadlines passed without evidence to back up the demand.

On Tuesday, the FBI the released doorbell camera stills and video of a man at her door. The man in the video is apparently – allegedly – tampering with the doorbell camera.

New images in the search for Nancy Guthrie:

Over the last eight days, the FBI and Pima County Sheriff’s Department have been working closely with our private sector partners to continue to recover any images or video footage from Nancy Guthrie’s home that may have been lost,… pic.twitter.com/z5WLgPtZpT

— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) February 10, 2026

The images show a masked man wearing a cheap gunshow-special holster in an odd way outside his belt. Some media outlets suggest the person photographed is a rank amateur with guns. Like a former FBI agent offered his opinion in a NY Post story.

The bizarre way Nancy Guthrie’s alleged abductor carried his gun, along with the amateurish way he tried to cover up the Nest camera, all point to an inexperienced thug, a former FBI agent has claimed…

“That is a very non-conventional way to carry a firearm. Very non-conventional,” former agent Mark Harrigan told The Post, referring to the picture appearing to show the suspect with the gun holstered at the front.

Mr. Harrigan’s investigative skills are right up there at the top of the class, are they not? It was followed by some wild speculation.

“That’s potentially somebody that’s not normally armed or carrying a firearm around in public. Normally, you’d have it on the hip,” said Harrigan, formerly the chief of the FBI’s Firearms Training Program.

“You don’t carry it on your hip bone because it’s uncomfortable. He may have had it concealed in his backpack and decided then to put it on his waist when he got close to the door,” he added.

This was in Arizona though. It’s not like open carry is rare there. Carrying like this though?

On the other hand, would there be a better way to throw the media “bloodhounds” (and others) off the scent than to do something so epicly amateurish?

Then again, concealed means concealed and an image of a man, sans gun, but carrying concealed would be less click-baity for the media click farmers.

Hours later, authorities detained a person for questioning in connection with the case south of Tucson in Rio Rico, Arizona. The media breathlessly reported it, desperate for any news in the case. NBC broke news of this latest tidbit:

A man who lives at a property that was searched by authorities said Wednesday he was the person detained for questioning in connection with the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie and has since been released from custody.

The New York Times and several other outlets reported early Wednesday that the man who was detained for questioning had been released. Pima County Sheriff’s Department declined to comment on reports of the release when asked overnight by NBC News.

It earlier confirmed that a man had been detained for questioning and said early this morning that the search at the property was over and that the investigation was ongoing.

A man who identified himself as Carlos Palazuelos spoke to Telemundo in Spanish outside his house in Rio Rico — the site of the law enforcement search Tuesday. Palazuelos confirmed his house was searched as per a warrant. His front and back door was damaged, he said.

Searches to date have included the home itself and a variety of nearby areas. The national attention has resulted in hundreds of leads, but it’s equally certain that most many are cranks pushing conspiracy theories.

In the mean time, Nancy Guthrie remains missing with investigators emphasizing hope she is alive while saying they’re pursuing all angles.