Person detained in Nancy Guthrie disappearance case

A person has been detained for questioning in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of NBC Today host Savannah Guthrie, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The people said the person was detained in an area south of Tucson on Tuesday (Arizona time).

They did not immediately provide additional details, and it wasn’t clear if the person being questioned was the person captured on surveillance video from outside Guthrie’s house released earlier Tuesday.

The people were not authorised to discuss details of an ongoing investigation and spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Earlier, the FBI released video and images of a masked intruder appearing to tamper with a surveillance camera at Nancy Guthrie’s home early on the morning of her disappearance, providing significant new evidence in a mystery that has gripped the nation and the world.

FBI director Kash Patel posted four images from a video he said was recovered from “residual data located in backend systems”, after eight days of attempting to recover lost or inaccessible data from cameras at Nancy Guthrie’s home.

“As of this morning, law enforcement has uncovered these previously inaccessible new images showing an armed individual appearing to have tampered with the camera at Nancy Guthrie’s front door the morning of her disappearance,” Patel said.

The black-and-white images show the person wearing a mask, dark gloves, a sweater, pants and a backpack. Patel subsequently posted a 27-second video that showed the person loitering outside the front door, and a 14-second video of the person appearing to cover the door’s camera with foliage.

It was previously known that a security camera at Guthrie’s home detected a “person on camera” at 2.12am on February 1, but there was no video to show what triggered that alert.

Savannah Guthrie, who was born in Melbourne, has posted numerous videos since her mother’s disappearance, including one that acknowledged a “message” from a purported kidnapper and offered to pay a ransom.

Authorities believe Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will from her house, though police are yet to verify the authenticity of purported ransom notes that were sent to some US media outlets. The deadlines set in the notes have now passed.

They have refocused their search efforts near Nancy Guthrie’s neighbourhood, using vehicles to block her driveway. A few miles away, law enforcement was going door-to-door in the area where daughter Annie Guthrie lives, talking to neighbours as well as walking through a drainage area and examining the inside of a culvert with a flashlight.

DNA tests showed blood on Guthrie’s front porch was a match to her, and a doorbell camera was disconnected in the early hours of Sunday morning, police have said.

“Investigators have not identified any suspects, persons of interest, or vehicles connected to Nancy Guthrie,” the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said Monday.

Savannah Guthrie shared several of the new surveillance images and video on social media with the caption: “Someone out there recognises this person. We believe she is still out there. Bring her home,” along with numbers for the FBI and county sheriff. Within minutes, the posts had thousands of comments.

The family has posted a series of videos over the past week, each striking a different tone. The latest video from Savannah on Monday, in which she appeared alone, was more bleak.

“We are at an hour of desperation,” she said. “We believe our mum is still out there. She was taken, and we don’t know where, and we need your help.”

Authorities say Nancy Guthrie needs daily medication because she is said to have high blood pressure and heart issues, including a pacemaker. She also has limited mobility, and it is believed she could not have left the home independently.

At a briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she and President Donald Trump had reviewed the new images released by the FBI, and Trump encouraged anyone with information to come forward.

“The prayers of this entire White House are with Savannah and her family at this time, and we hope this person is found soon and that her mother is brought home safely,” Leavitt said.

The FBI has offered a $US50,000 ($71,000) reward for information leading to Guthrie’s recovery or the arrest of anyone involved in her disappearance. The bureau this week began posting digital billboards in major cities from Texas to California.

Earlier, FBI spokesperson Connor Hagan said the bureau was not aware of ongoing communication between Guthrie’s family and the suspected kidnappers. He also confirmed authorities had not identified any suspects or persons of interest.

“Someone has that one piece of information that can help us bring Nancy home,” he said.

With Michael Koziol

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.