Man detained for questioning in Nancy Guthrie case after FBI releases videos

Authorities on Tuesday night detained a man for questioning in the investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance, a person familiar with the matter told NBC News.

The development comes hours after the FBI released images of a masked and armed individual captured on her front door camera from the morning the 84-year-old mother of “TODAY” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie disappeared in Tucson, Arizona.

It was not immediately clear whether the man detained for questioning was the same person seen in the doorbell camera images released earlier by FBI Director Kash Patel. The FBI is directing all questions to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.

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Patel earlier published on X six black-and-white photos and three video clips. The images show the unidentified person wearing a mask, gloves, sneakers and a backpack. The potential subject is armed, Patel said in a post on X, and at least one of the videos shows a holstered gun.

The images show the person appearing to cover the camera with a gloved hand and what seems to be part of a plant. In one of the videos, the person tilts their head downward while walking through the home’s front archway.

Patel said law enforcement had “uncovered these previously inaccessible new images” as of Tuesday morning. The video was “recovered from residual data located in backend systems.”

The Pima County Sheriff’s Office, which is leading the investigation, released an identical statement and said no news briefings were planned at this time.

The images released by the FBI show the logo for Nest, a smart doorbell brand owned by Google. The technology giant did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Savannah Guthrie posted one of the photos on her Instagram account with a brief message: “We believe she is still alive. Bring her home. Anyone with information, please contact 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or the Pima County Sheriff’s Department 520-351-4900.”

President Donald Trump has reviewed the surveillance imagery, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

“The president encourages any American across the country with any knowledge of the suspect to please call the FBI, who continue to assist state and local authorities who are leading this investigation on the ground,” Leavitt said.

Patel, who was appointed by Trump to lead the FBI, visited the Tucson command center in the Guthrie case Monday, a source familiar with the matter told NBC News.

Guthrie’s family reported the 84-year-old missing from her home in Tucson around noon Feb. 1 after she did not show up for virtual church services. She was last seen the previous night, around 9:45 p.m., after having dinner at the home of her daughter Annie Guthrie, Arizona, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Office.

Guthrie’s disappearance set off a desperate search involving state and federal law enforcement agencies.

Three news outlets have said they received a ransom note referencing Guthrie. NBC News has reviewed a copy of the note, and the contents are consistent with the descriptions provided by the FBI and those news outlets. No law enforcement agency has so far substantiated the note.

In an Instagram video Monday, Savannah Guthrie said her family believed her mother was “still out there” and asked for the public’s help in finding her.

“We are at an hour of desperation, and we need your help,” she said in part.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said Guthrie does not have cognitive issues, characterizing her as “sharp as a tack.” However, he said, she has limited mobility and needs to take medication daily or “it could be fatal.”

Nanos has said he does not know whether Guthrie’s medication was still at her home.

She has a pacemaker — a device typically implanted under the skin to regulate the heartbeat — which disconnected from its monitoring app on her phone early Feb. 1.

The FBI has released images of what they are calling a “possible subject” in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.