A man was detained and questioned in the suspected kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie, only be be released early Wednesday after several hours of interrogation.
The man said he had no connection to the disappearance of the 84-year-old mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie, and was a DoorDash delivery driver.
The man, Carlos Palazuelos, was stopped by law enforcement Tuesday evening during a traffic stop in Rio Rico, Arizona, approximately 60 miles south of Tucson and just north of the Mexico border.
Authorities also executed a court-authorized search warrant at his residence.
“They were following me,” Palazuelos told local ABC Phoenix affiliate station KNXV. “And once I saw they were following me, I pulled over. They didn’t even have to [make] a traffic stop. I got out of the car and they arrested me as soon as I got out of the car.”
The detention came hours after FBI Director Kash Patel released surveillance photos and videos showing a masked person wearing gloves and with a handgun tampering with the doorbell camera at Guthrie’s Tucson home the morning she disappeared.
“They told me I was being detained for kidnapping,” Palazuelos said. “And I asked them, kidnapping of who?”
The 27-year-old delivery driver said that he was detained for several hours and had his vehicle thoroughly searched, then was released. Speaking to reporters outside his home in Rio Rico early Wednesday, Palazuelos insisted he was innocent.
“I hope they get the suspect, because I’m not it,” he said. “They better do their job and find the suspect that did it so that they can clear my name.”
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department confirmed Tuesday night that deputies “detained a subject during a traffic stop south of Tucson” and that “the subject [was] being questioned in connection to the Nancy Guthrie investigation.”
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said Wednesday morning that investigators had completed their search of the property in Rio Rico. The department said the Nancy Guthrie investigation remains ongoing but provided no further details.
Nancy Guthrie was last seen on Jan. 31 after being dropped off at her Tucson home by her son-in-law following a family dinner. She was reported missing Feb. 1 when she failed to attend church.
FBI Director Patel told Fox News late Tuesday that investigators have multiple people of interest.
“We are looking at people who, as we say, are persons of interest,” Patel said, and added that authorities were working to eliminate anyone not directly involved.
The FBI’s first priority is finding Guthrie, Patel said, and “right behind that is to find anyone and any others involved in this kidnapping case to make sure they’re brought to justice.”