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A man who was detained near the Mexican border on Tuesday night in connection with Nancy Guthrie‘s abduction has been released after police performed a court-ordered search of the property where he had been staying.
The individual was taken into custody following a traffic stop south of Tucson Tuesday night, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said.
He was detained in Rio Rico, Arizona – a small town near the US border with Mexico, where authorities carried out a court-ordered search of a home near Interstate 19.
The man has since been released, KNXV reported around 1am Wednesday local time.
Officials have said around that the search of the property has been completed, CNN reports.
But federal authorities are looking at more than one ‘person of interest’ as authorities received a deluge of tips following the release of a doorbell camera footage.
FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News that the bureau’s outreach to the private sector has shown ‘there might be persons of interest in and around the area related to this event.’
Patel did not elaborate on who may be under suspicion, but said authorities were working to eliminate anyone who might not actually be involved.
He added that the agency’s first priority was finding Nancy and ‘right behind that is to find any others involved in this kidnapping case to make sure they’re brought to justice.’
An unidentified individual has been detained for questioning in connection with Today Show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother’s abduction
Federal authorities released surveillance footage on Tuesday showing a masked suspect at Nancy’s home the night she went missing
He was reportedly taken into custody in Rio Rico, Arizona- a small town near the US border with Mexico
The potential break in the case came hours after federal authorities released terrifying doorbell camera footage from Today Show host Savannah Guthrie‘s mother’s home the night she was abducted.
It showed an armed figure clad in a ski mask and carrying a backpack, wearing black latex gloves. The suspect can also be seen tampering with the mother-of-three’s Nest doorbell camera and ripping the camera from its holder on the door frame.
The device was missing by the time sheriff’s deputies arrived that morning.
It remained unclear Tuesday night whether the suspect who was brought in for questioning was the same man who was seen in the surveillance footage, but TMZ reports the person who was detained is not a member of the Guthrie family.
Authorities are now preparing to search a property associated with the detained individual, according to ABC News.
At the same time, local SWAT teams, a bomb squad and the FBI’s elite Hostage Recue Team were been deployed to the city.
Meanwhile, a Bitcoin account referenced in reported ransom letters sent to various news outlets saw some activity on Tuesday, one day after a deadline for the family to pay $6 million for Nancy’s safe return.
‘I can only tell you that we have seen activity in the account,’ TMZ’s Harvey Levin said Tuesday night, without elaborating.
Local news outlet KGUN later reported that the activity amounts to less than $300.
TMZ is one of three outlets that received alleged ransom notes in connection with Nancy’s abduction.
It remains unclear whether the person who was detained Tuesday night was the same person who was caught on Nancy’s Nest surveillance footage
The figure raises their fist while wearing latex gloves, with apparent facial hair also visible, moments before the individual apparently removed the camera
Moments before the individual apparently removes the camera outside Nancy’s home
Unidentified sources involved in the investigation had earlier told the outlet that officers believe the ransom notes that were sent to local news networks and TMZ were, in fact, written by the kidnapper.
The notes also reportedly provide clues on where the suspect lives, with sources noting that the person who sent the letters was intimately familiar with the media in Tucson, and included specific references to damage at Nancy’s home and the placement of some of her possessions – details that have not been shared with the public.
The 84 year old was reported missing after failing to attend a virtual church service with friends on February 1, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said.
She was last seen the night before, attending dinner with her eldest daughter, Annie and son-in-law Tommaso Cioni.
Tommaso then dropped her back off at her house at around 9.48pm and her garage door closed at approximately 9.50pm, according to police.
By 1.47am, Nancy’s doorbell camera was disconnected, with the newly released footage showing the suspect ripping the camera from its holder on the door frame.
Another video released by officials showed the masked individual attempting to cover the lens with a clenched fist, then searching the area around the door, ripping a bunch of flowers from the entranceway, and waving them at the camera.
The suspect also appeared to be hunched over as he made their first approach to the door, bowing his head.
As the investigation into Nancy’s disappearance stretched into a tenth consecutive day without any leads on Tuesday, officers were seen once again going door-to-door around Annie and Tommaso’s home
Authorities detained a person of interest following a traffic stop in Rio Rico, Arizona
Authorities continued to search the person of interest’s property overnight on Tuesday
Annie and Tommaso have previously said they only realized Nancy was missing around 11.10am last Sunday, the Pima County Sheriff’s Office said.
They reported her disappearance to police at 12.15pm. Her phone, wallet, vital daily medications and car were still at her Catalina Foothills home.
Cioni said he saw his mother-in-law enter her home through the garage before driving off the night before at around 9:45pm MT.
Investigators found drops of blood on Nancy’s front porch that were later confirmed to be hers and that her doorbell camera was disconnected at around 1.45am.
Less than 30 minutes later, her security camera detected movement. Her pacemaker stopped transmitting data to her Apple Watch and phone shortly afterwards, suggesting she had been taken out of the devices’ range.
Nancy requires medication every 24 hours and it is unclear if whoever abducted her has ensured she has access to her medication as her three children released several videos pleading for the public’s help to find their mother.
Guthrie and her two siblings, Camron and Annie, in a video they shared online asking for help
As the investigation into Nancy’s disappearance stretched into a tenth consecutive day without any leads on Tuesday, officers were seen once again going door-to-door around Annie and Tommaso’s home and asking nearby businesses for any surveillance footage they may have captured the night of February 1.
Other agents were seen searching a junkyard, bushes behind Annie and Tommaso’s home as well as another house at the far end of their street.
Neighbor John Grove even told the Daily Mail that investigators asked to search a dry river bed on his property.
‘The cops wanted to know if they could go through that wash next to my house – I said they could,’ he recounted. ‘I asked if it was related to the kidnapping and they said “We can’t tell you that.”
‘They’re playing their cards close to their chest,’ Grove added.
‘I just hope she didn’t get into any difficulties around here – it’s very harsh terrain,’ he said. ‘We had a guy the other day who just moved here and got lost and died.
‘For someone like her, well, it wouldn’t end well.’