Nancy Guthrie disappearance: New letter to TMZ claims to know who kidnapper is

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told KOLD-TV Wednesday night that more detainments are likely as authorities continue their investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.

The sheriff’s office said Wednesday that it received thousands of calls and tips following the release of a video from Nancy Guthrie’s front doorbell camera.

On Tuesday, authorities detained Carlos Palazuelos for questioning. The sheriff's department and the FBI conducted a court-authorized search of a home in Rio Rico where Palazuelos was staying. He was later released by the FBI.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Pima County Sheriff's Department for comment.

Thursday marks one week since law enforcement last held a news briefing to provide information on the Nancy Guthrie case.

Over the past week, both the Pima County Sheriff's Department and the FBI have provided written updates and statements on the status of the investigation.

The sheriff’s department said it will call a press conference if a significant development breaks in the investigation.

On Wednesday, the sheriff’s department said it had received 4,000 calls in the past 24 hours following the release of video from Nancy Guthrie’s front doorbell camera. The department clarified that not all of the calls were connected to the Guthrie case.

Sen. Mark Kelly issued an urgent plea Wednesday night as the search for Nancy Guthrie entered its 11th day.

“They now have, I think, over 15,000 phone calls that have come in — you know, leads,” Kelly told KGUN 9, noting that some of those tips have ultimately proven to be “dead ends.”

Referencing Carlos Palazuelos, who was detained for questioning in Rio Rico the night before and later released by the FBI, Kelly said the development showed the intensity of search efforts.

“I think the guy in Rio Rico is an example of that, but you can feel how they’re, you know, desperate,” he said.

Kelly also expressed concern about Guthrie’s health as the search continues.

“She’s elderly. She has health problems,” he said. “You know, Gabby and I, we live there in Tucson. We live pretty close by — probably about five miles away — and we’re praying for Savannah’s mom, for Nancy Guthrie.”

Nancy Guthrie’s friends and neighbors have begun placing yellow ribbons and flowers along the curb outside her home in a show of support.

The Catalina Foothills Association (CFA) organized the effort to stand with the Guthrie family in the wake of Nancy’s disappearance. Leaders of the housing development said the flowers and ribbons are meant to be a symbol of hope, according to NBC News.

The CFA suggested people may also want to tie a yellow ribbon in front of their homes to demonstrate that they stand with the Guthries and fellow neighbors.

Michael Feldman is turning to the public for help as the search intensifies for his missing mother-in-law, Nancy Guthrie.

After the FBI released photos of a masked subject believed to be connected to the 84-year-old’s disappearance, the husband of NBC “TODAY” show co-host Savannah Guthrie took to social media with an urgent plea.

“Someone out there may recognize this person,” Feldman, 57, wrote on Instagram Tuesday, February 10, posting images and surveillance video stills shared by investigators. “Please help us. Bring her home.”

The FBI images show a masked individual, including a full-body shot and a close-up image that appears to show the person holding a plant. Feldman also included photos of Nancy and shared both the FBI tip line and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department contact information, urging anyone with information to come forward.

Nancy Guthrie was reported missing on February 1. Authorities have not disclosed additional details about the circumstances surrounding her disappearance but continue to ask for the public’s assistance.

Feldman’s post marks his first public statement since Nancy vanished. His wife, Savannah Guthrie, has made multiple emotional appeals in recent days.

“We believe she is still alive. Bring her home,” Savannah wrote on Instagram Monday.

Law enforcement is working on an official description of the masked figure captured on Nancy Guthrie's Nest doorbell camera — but there is no guarantee or timeline for when it will be released, Fox News Digital has learned.

One day after the FBI released video of the individual, neither the bureau nor Pima County authorities have provided basic identifying details of the person such as an estimated height, weight or other physical characteristics.

Those specifics could help the public narrow down who they are looking for as the video continues to circulate online, Fox News Correspondent Matt Finn reported.

Fox News' drone spotted law enforcement agents searching behind Nancy Guthrie's home on Wednesday evening.

The agents appeared to be focusing on a certain area just beyond the pool area in the backyard

Carlos Palazuelo, who was detained and questioned by authorities on Tuesday, then released, was not identified solely based on the doorbell video from Nancy Guthrie's home, the FBI has confirmed to Fox News.

Palazuelos was instead pinpointed by other background investigations.

While Palazuelos' eyes could be considered similar to — or a potential match for — the masked individual seen in the video at Guthrie’s front door, the FBI said that resemblance alone did not prompt his questioning.

Palazuelos claimed that agents took his phone when he was questioned.

Fox News' Matt Finn contributed to this report

Two men were seen at Annie Guthrie’s home on Wednesday afternoon. Fox News cameras were rolling as the men arrived and left.

One of the men was carrying a bag. The other man, who was wearing gloves, took mail from the mailbox. It's unclear why the men were at the house or if they are law enforcement.

Annie's residence is located around four miles from Nancy Guthrie’s home.

The property was previously searched Feb. 7, as part of the ongoing investigation into Nancy’s disappearance and the hunt for her suspected abductor.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department reported a surge in calls after releasing the video from Nancy Guthrie’s front doorbell camera.

Spokeswoman Angelica Carrillo said Wednesday the agency received 4,000 calls in the past 24 hours, though she clarified not all of them were connected to the Guthrie case.

Carrillo also confirmed several hundred agents and detectives are currently assigned to the investigation.

Meanwhile, the FBI announced Wednesday that numerous agents are also carrying out an “extensive search” along several roadways in Tucson’s Catalina Foothills.

Former NYPD Inspector Paul Mauro told Fox News’ “Outnumbered” on Wednesday that, “You'd have to ask yourself what the motivations are here,” after TMZ reported it received a third note from someone claiming to know who Nancy Guthrie’s kidnapper is. 

“We’re all still trying to process this latest thing that came in from TMZ and look, when you consider the atmospherics around this thing, we've had a couple of other emails that didn't pan out that very well might have been hoaxes, unscrupulous people trying to pile into this thing. You have to say to yourself with this latest one asking for a Bitcoin worth about $66,000 when the reward is $50,000, and you could come forward and be a hero. You'd have to ask yourself what the motivations are here,” Mauro said. 

“Looks to me like [it] could be a hoax. Certainly, you have to admit that possibility, but it could be genuine. They gave reportedly an email address to facilitate communication, you can bet that the authorities are scraping very hard at that,” he continued. 

“Either way, it's somebody that should have just come forward if they have genuine information. So right now, this is a pertinent investigative lead. But I'm not sure it's the most important one,” Mauro added. 

TUCSON, Ariz. — Friday night's dramatic search of a home in Rio Rico, Arizona, just north of the border with Mexico, marked the first known in the investigation for the missing Nancy Guthrie outside of a property belonging to a family member.

The Pima County Sheriff's Department and the FBI conducted a court-authorized search of a home in the desert community of about 20,000 people, where an individual, Carlos Palazuelos, was staying. Palazuelos had been pulled and briefly detained for questioning.

Several hours later, early on Wednesday morning, investigators left the scene.

Until Tuesday night, the only properties searched belonged to Nancy Guthrie herself and her eldest daughter, Annie.

Authorities searched Nancy's home on Sunday, Feb. 1, after she reportedly did not attend a weekly group meetup where she normally watched a livestreamed church service with acquaintances.

In the evening hours of Friday, Feb. 6, the FBI returned to Nancy's home, cleared the media away and searched the property again, including on the roof.

Annie Guthrie's home has also been searched twice, once on Wednesday, Feb. 4, three days into the investigation, and again on Saturday Feb. 7.

Fox News contributor Paul Mauro said on “Outnumbered” Wednesday that the behavior of the masked individual seen trying to cover a camera outside Nancy Guthrie’s home with a plant makes “zero sense.” 

A video released Tuesday by the FBI of an unknown individual outside the home of Nancy Guthrie on the morning she disappeared shows that person, at one point, trying to cover up the view of a doorbell camera with a plant. 

“There’s something about this guy the way he moves, how casual he is. He's entirely unconcerned,” Mauro said Wednesday. “Not only is he unconcerned in a situation where he should be highly pressured, but he does that thing with the plant, which makes zero sense.” 

“You know, who picks up a plant to try to obfuscate the view of a camera? Even if he had taken a handful of dirt, which there's no shortage of down here and smeared it on the lens, that makes more sense to me. But he takes a plant and he starts –  I mean, how would you even affix a small plant to the exterior of a Ring camera, a Nest camera?” Mauro continued. “So that alone strikes me as very, very off. And of course somebody who would do this is off by definition.” 

The FBI announced Wednesday that numerous agents are conducting an "extensive search along multiple roadways in the Catalina Foothills area" of Tucson, Arizona, in relation to the Nancy Guthrie investigation.

"We are asking the media and motorists to follow all traffic laws and to remain especially cautious when passing law enforcement personnel near the roadways," the FBI's Phoenix office said.

"We appreciate the assistance and support we have received from the Tucson community. The FBI continues to offer a $50,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of Nancy Guthrie. You can help by submitting tips to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI," it added.

Former FBI assistant director Chris Swecker told Fox News’ “The Faulkner Focus” on Wednesday that he is “highly skeptical” about a third note that TMZ founder Harvey Levin said his outlet has obtained in relation to the Nancy Guthrie case. 

“I just don’t think anything TMZ has brought forward has panned out. I mean it’s a good vehicle for people to come in and do this, TMZ gets some viewership and it sort of ties up the investigative team trying to run this down. But I sense a scam here,” Swecker said. 

“I may be absolutely wrong, I hope I am, I love to think that this is a viable lead but I think it’s one of many hundreds that are coming in through the proper channels, which is the FBI tip line. Bottom line is I’m very skeptical of it,” he added. 

Levin had said the third alleged letter claimed to know who Nancy Guthrie's alleged kidnapper is.

TMZ founder Harvey Levin told Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” on Wednesday that law enforcement is operating on the theory that Nancy Guthrie’s alleged kidnapper lives in the Tucson, Arizona, area. 

“Law enforcement has told me they are operating under the theory that this person lives in the Tucson television area, and that's why they've had so much contact with the local television stations there,” Levin said in reference to alleged ransom notes that have been sent to local networks. 

Levin revealed Wednesday that TMZ was sent a third note that claims to know who Nancy Guthrie's alleged kidnapper is.

"Reading that first note, I think it is intelligent person. I think it is a tech-savvy person because we were on the phone with the FBI a couple of hours after we got the letter and everybody was trying, including my IT team, trying to figure out something about who sent it, and we hit a dead end," he added.

Former FBI agent Jason Pack told “Fox & Friends First” that the release of images and video of a masked individual in the search for Nancy Guthrie should spark more visible police activity in Arizona today. 

"I think you're going to see more of these leads and you're going to see more law enforcement activity. You're going to see people out knocking on the doors,” he said. 

“Now that they have a photograph, they're going to go back to these places they've already canvassed. They're going to show the people the photograph. They're going to show the backpack. They're going to show the holster. They're going to show all these articles of clothing and they're going to try to hit the streets and get more leads,” Pack continued. 

“Bring those back, put them on the timeline and see where to go from there. I think we'll have more activity today,” he added. 

Former White House Chief Information Officer Theresa Payton told “Fox & Friends First” on Wednesday that artificial intelligence is likely playing a key role into the investigation of surveillance video and images released by the FBI in the search for Nancy Guthrie. 

“I’m assuming that some of the best trained investigators in our country are on this project using AI to enhance what would normally take them a longer time to do,” Payton said. 

FBI Director Kash Patel said on “Hannity” last night that the agency is looking at multiple persons of interest in the search for Nancy Guthrie.   

“If you have multiple people of interest that you are interviewing and talking to, which they may have and they are just not telling the public, again, you want the abductors to let their guard down so you can find Nancy,” Payton added. “They can start using AI to match up the eyes, so we have the eyes, the eyebrows, you can use AI to ask questions about what are the probabilities that these faces actually could be a good match, what are the probabilities that this person is wearing layers of clothing and they are not this bulky, what are the probabilities that they are taller than they seem to be and what do they weigh.” 

“So there is a lot of things AI can be doing to aid this investigation, including doing reverse image lookups of the backpack, of the clothing being worn, of the boots themselves, maybe those things have been spotted on other surveillance videos,” she also said. “So they can use it to sort through and look through matches through massive amounts of data.” 

Former FBI special agent Nicole Parker told "Fox & Friends First" on Wednesday that the FBI’s release of video and images in the search for Nancy Guthrie is a massive break in the investigation. 

“I do hope to see more surveillance and more images. But I think even if we are left with what we have right now, it is a very huge break in this case” she said. 

Following the release of the materials Tuesday, a person was briefly detained for questioning in Rio Rico, Arizona, in connection with the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie. That person was later released. 

“I do believe that there will be many, many more leads pouring in and it is not uncommon to have a detainment and that may not be the right individual, or it may not be the right time, and so they release them,” Parker said. “But I have absolute confidence that this individual or individuals, these offenders, or offender, will be brought to justice. And it’s just a matter of time.” 

FBI Director Kash Patel said on “Hannity” that the agency is looking at multiple persons of interest in the search for Nancy Guthrie. 

“Without polluting the investigation, I will say we have made substantial progress in these last 36-48 hours, thanks to the technical capabilities of the FBI and our partnerships, and I do believe we are looking at people who, as we say, are persons of interest, but as you know with any investigation, you're a person of interest until you're either eliminated, or you're actually found to be the culprit or the culprits involved, and that's the stage we're at right now,” Patel said. 

Patel spoke after the FBI released surveillance video and images showing a masked individual outside the front door of Nancy Guthrie's home around the time she vanished. 

“We were able to execute lawful searches and go to these private sector companies and expedite results and then go into their systems and actually excavate material that people would think would normally be deleted and no one would look for,” Patel said. 

Carlos Palazuelos told Fox News' Matt Finn that he was questioned in connection to the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie but had nothing to do with the case.

Palazuelos told Fox News that he was detained for questioning during a traffic stop and that investigators asked him about his recent whereabouts. Palazuelos said he delivers packages in the Tucson area but was unsure if he had delivered a package to Nancy Guthrie’s house, saying it “might have been a possibility.”

He said investigators showed his in-law a picture of someone wearing a mask and "they supposedly looked like my eyes."

"That's it. That's all I know," he added.

In a separate interview, Palazuelos told Telemundo that he is a DoorDash driver and that the front and back door of his home were damaged during a search by law enforcement, which was carried out with a warrant.

The FBI on Tuesday had released images of a masked individual outside Nancy Guthrie’s front door around the time she vanished.

Pima County law enforcement was seen by Fox News leaving a home in Rio Rico, Arizona, early Wednesday after a "court-authorized search" in connection with the search for Nancy Guthrie.

The FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department were involved in carrying out a “court-authorized search” at the location as part of the investigation into 84-year-old missing woman.

"Investigators have completed their search of a property in Rio Rico," the Pima County Sheriff's Department said in a statement, adding that the Nancy Guthrie investigation is "ongoing."

An individual was detained for questioning during a traffic stop on Tuesday in connection with the Guthrie case, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said.

It's unclear if the home belonged to the person detained earlier in the evening.

A person who was briefly detained for questioning Tuesday evening in Rio Rico, Arizona, in connection with the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie has been released, authorities said.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said deputies detained an individual during a traffic stop south of Tucson, near the U.S.-Mexico border, hours after the FBI released surveillance images of a masked person wearing a handgun holster outside Guthrie’s front door the night she vanished.

Law enforcement officials later conducted a court-authorized search at a home in Rio Rico, about an hour’s drive south of Tucson. By Wednesday morning, investigators had left the residence, the scene was cleared and police tape was removed.

A man at the home identified himself to Fox News’ Matt Finn as “Carlos.” He said he was the person pulled over during the traffic stop and detained for questioning but has since been released and is back at the house.

He told Fox News he works in Tucson delivering packages and said he had nothing to do with Guthrie’s disappearance. He said investigators questioned him about his whereabouts and took his phone before ultimately letting him go.

The FBI on Tuesday released short surveillance clips showing a masked person wearing a backpack and what appeared to be a handgun holster outside Guthrie’s home the night she disappeared.