Arizona authorities briefly detained a man for questioning in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie. And the man, later identified as a local delivery driver, told reporters that he had no idea who the elderly woman even was.
A spokeswoman for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said that deputies detained the man during a traffic stop south of Tucson on Tuesday.
That man was later identified in news reports as Carlos Palazuelos, who said he was driving around working when authorities stopped him, handcuffed him, hauled him off, and held him “against my will.”
“I don’t know anything,” Palazuelos told reporters, according to video posted on X. The man said he wasn’t even aware that Nancy Guthrie, the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, had been missing.
“I don’t follow the news,” said Palazuelos, adding, “I hope they get the suspect because I’m not it.”
Authorities believe 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, who has limited mobility, a pacemaker, and relies on daily medication for a heart condition, was abducted from her Arizona home in the middle of the night 11 days ago.
Tuesday’s detainment took place hours after the FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department released images recovered from Nancy Guthrie’s missing Nest doorbell camera showing a person in a ski mask who appeared to be tampering with Guthrie’s security device. Authorities said the video of the person, who they said was armed, was captured the day she disappeared.
Palazuelos told Fox News during an interview that it was a “possibility” that he may have once delivered a package to Nancy Guthrie’s ranch-style home, but that he wasn’t sure.
FBI/Pima County Sheriff’s Department
“All I know is that they showed my in-law a picture of somebody wearing a mask or something, and they supposedly looked like my eyes,” Palazuelos said.
The man also told reporters that investigators searched his Rio Rico home and damaged the front door and garage door.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department did not immediately return a request for comment from Business Insider regarding the man’s detainment.
