Pima County Sheriff Nanos said investigators are “definitely closer” to identifying a suspect in the missing mom case.
Investigation ‘definitely closer,’ Sheriff Says<
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos shared an update in an interview with NBC reporter Liz Kreutz that aired on the Today show on March 3.
When asked whether investigators are closer to identifying a suspect or suspects, Nanos said, “I think that investigators are definitely closer. We’ve got a lot of intel, a lot of leads, but now it’s time to just go to work.”
However, authorities have not named any suspects yet.
Authorities review doorbell footage and reexamine key evidence
Last month, police released doorbell camera footage showing a masked, armed man attempting to enter Nancy’s home shortly before her pacemaker was disconnected from its tracking device.
Neighbors have submitted several doorbell camera videos from the area. One clip which was first shared by Fox News Digital showed a car speeding about 2.5 miles from Nancy’s home around the time she was abducted.
“We’re aware of it and we’re looking into it, just like any other piece of evidence,” Chris Nanos said. He also added that investigators have not been able to identify the vehicle.
“We’re looking at that vehicle as well as hundreds of thousands of other vehicles that were out driving at that time of day,” he said.
Authorities are also reexamining earlier assumptions including whether the suspect’s backpack came from Walmart.
“We’re now learned that maybe it wasn’t purchased out of Walmart,” Nanos said.
“That backpack is new, it’s exclusive to Walmart, but who’s to say I didn’t buy it and put it on eBay? That’s what we’re looking into,” he added.
Family marks one month of Nancy’s disappearance
To mark one month since Nancy’s disappearance, Savannah Guthrie along with her sister Annie Guthrie and her brother-in-law Tommasso Cioni visited a memorial outside her home on March 2. The memorial included yellow flowers, cards and messages.
Savannah later wrote on Instagram that, “We feel the love and prayers from our neighbors, from the Tucson community and from around the country [yellow heart emoji] Please don’t stop praying and hoping with us. Bring her home.”
The Guthrie family has also increased the reward price to $1 million for information that leads to Nancy’s recovery or the arrest of a suspect.
What to Know About the People Ruled Out in Nancy Guthrie’s Case
Nancy Guthrie has been missing since the early morning hours of Feb. 1
Over a month into the search for Nancy Guthrie, authorities have yet to determine who might have kidnapped her.
Nancy — who is Today co-host Savannah Guthrie’s mom — was last seen on Jan. 31, and is believed by authorities to have been kidnapped from her home in Tucson, Ariz., sometime during the early morning hours of Feb. 1.
More than a week into the search for Nancy, authorities released surveillance footage appearing to show a masked, armed person — whom the FBI estimated was “a male, approximately 5’9” – 5’10” tall, with an average build” — tampering with her doorbell camera outside the home.
While the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI haven’t named a suspect or confirmed whether Nancy is alive or dead, they have investigated potential leads.
Police previously detained and released three people who are not suspected of any wrongdoing.
They also ruled out Nancy’s family members as potential suspects, with Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos saying during a Feb. 17 press conference that his team “did everything” to investigate them before deeming them as “victims.”
The FBI’s reward of $100,000 remains active, and anyone with information about Nancy’s disappearance is asked to please contact 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900.
Here’s everything to know about the people detained by police and ruled out in Nancy Guthrie’s case.
Carlos Palazuelos was detained at a traffic stop on Feb. 1
During the evening of Feb. 10, police detained Carlos Palazuelos of Rio Rico, Ariz., roughly 60 miles south of Tucson. He was detained after a traffic stop while he was working.
In a video posted on X by CBS News’ Andres Gutierrez, Palazuelos said authorities were following him so he “pulled up on them.”
When asked what authorities said to him, Palazuelos replied, “Nothing. Really, nothing. They just said, ‘Stop moving, what’s your name?’ Carlos. That was it. Pulled me into the cop car.”
Palazuelos was eventually told it had to do with a kidnapping case and recalled thinking, “What the f— am I doing here? I didn’t do anything. I’m innocent.”
Palazuelos went on to say that authorities didn’t ask him any questions, though he claimed they searched his car and home.
Just moments after his release, Palazuelos told ABC 15 Arizona that he was “glad they’re doing their job,” but said they were “chasing the wrong guy.”
He also told the outlet that he and his wife, who was behind the wheel, pulled over once they noticed police were following them.
Palazuelos said he was stopped. “They didn’t tell me what was going on until detectives got here.”
Palazuelos said he doesn’t watch the Today show
Following Palazuelos’ release, he spoke to reporters outside his house and said he “didn’t do anything,” per Gutierrez’s video.
He told reporters that he had no idea why he was stopped or who Nancy or Savannah were. “That’s the problem. I don’t know anything,” Palazuelos said in the video posted by Gutierrez.
“I hope they get the suspect, because I’m not it,” he continued. “I hope they get the suspect so I can clear my name.”
Luke Daley and his mother were detained on Feb. 13 for a few hours
On Feb. 13, SWAT members armed with a search warrant descended on the Tucson home of 37-year-old Luke Daley and his 77-year-old mother, who Fox News reported live about two miles from Nancy.
The mother and son were released without being charged after being held for hours.
At the time of their detainment, Daley’s attorney Chris Scileppi confirmed to PEOPLE that “Daley and his mother were both detained by law enforcement while the search warrants were being executed.”
“Neither Daley nor his mother were arrested in connection to this case or any other,” Scileppi added. “Daley has no link whatsoever to Nancy Guthrie and has no information related to her kidnapping. Like the entire Tucson community, both Daley and his mother are hopeful that Nancy will be returned to her family unharmed.”
Daley said he has never met Nancy, but knew who she was from the case
In an interview with True Crime Arizona’s Briana Whitney that was released on March 2, Daley broke his silence about the incident, clarifying that he had been detained by the sheriffs and questioned by the FBI.
He said he has no idea who is involved and if he did, he would let authorities know, saying, “I, like everyone else, just want Nancy to come home and be safe.”
Daley went on to say that he never met Nancy, though he knew who she was from his mother following the case. He also did not know they lived nearby “until after the fact.”
Daley said there is “no evidence” pointing to him other than “speculation”
Daley told Whitney that he believes law enforcement zeroed in on him after people on social media began saying that he looked like the masked suspect seen on Nest doorbell footage.
“It’s not me. I don’t see the resemblance of it looking like me. Absolutely not. I have nothing to do with this case,” he said. “Someone says something and then they just go off of it based on no evidence, no truth.”
Daley continued, “There is no evidence to point towards me other than speculation.”