Tucson officials are still trying to identify a suspect in Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance, even after a delivery driver was apprehended Tuesday night and subsequently released after several hours.
On the same night, the FBI used advanced recovery methods to obtain footage from a doorbell camera, revealing a masked intruder at a residence. This led to rampant speculation on cable news about a potential breakthrough, especially following the arrest reported south of Tucson. Savanah Guthrie, the host of today, recounts her mother’s mysterious disappearance.
The man who was released, identified as Carlos Palazuelos by the New York Post, stated he was unaware of Guthrie or her daughter and claimed to not follow the news. “What the hell am I doing here? I didn’t do anything. To be honest, I’m innocent,” he asserted before news cameras.
Authorities have not provided details on why Palazuelos was detained or the charges against him.
In a statement outside his home in Rio Rico, a small community about an hour south of Tucson, Palazuelos shared that he was traveling with his wife when he noticed police trailing them. After pulling over, he found himself in the back of a police vehicle almost immediately.
He claimed the police didn’t ask many questions and described his detention as being “held against my will.”
Palazuelos, a delivery worker in Tucson, claimed there was no interaction with Guthrie, who was last seen on February 1. “I told them I work for GLS in Tucson. I may have delivered packages to her house, but I’ve never kidnapped anyone,” he explained in an interview, adding that he was held since around 4 p.m. that day.
“I hope the real suspect is found because I am not,” he stated to reporters after his release. “They better do their job and find the person responsible to clear my name. I’m done.”
While he was in custody, police searched Palazuelos’ residence. His mother-in-law mentioned showing him a video of the intruder at the Guthrie residence.
“They showed me the video to check if it resembled him. He doesn’t wear anything like that, nothing that appears in the footage,” she told a news outlet.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Office has been quiet about the investigation, only mentioning that he is being questioned related to the case.
Earlier that same day, the FBI disclosed images and a video of a masked intruder outside Guthrie’s home the morning of her disappearance. Initially, it was believed that the doorbell cameras had not recorded anything.
However, the FBI collaborated with a technical expert to recover these images, despite Guthrie not subscribing to the security service linked to the camera.
This kidnapping case is becoming increasingly peculiar, with reports of ransom demands allegedly being sent to local news stations, yet there is no definitive proof that Guthrie’s mother was being held.
Recently, law enforcement has been seen examining properties associated with Guthrie’s eldest daughter, Annie, and her son-in-law, Tommaso Sioni, speaking with neighbors and searching the area.
Annie and Tommaso reportedly last saw Nancy Guthrie alive on January 31, after having dinner at their home before dropping her off. Authorities indicated that digital records from Guthrie’s watch and pacemaker showed he was taken from home between 1:47 a.m. and 2:28 a.m.
