The FBI is doubling its $50,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of Nancy Guthrie as federal and local authorities frantically search for the elderly woman who was forcibly abducted from her home in Arizona 12 days ago.
On Thursday, the FBI Phoenix Field Office revealed new details on a suspect as the search continues.
“The suspect is described as a male, approximately 5’9” – 5’10” tall, with an average build,” the field office posted on X following a forensic analysis of the doorbell camera footage that recorded the suspect outside Guthrie’s home on the night of her mysterious disappearance. “In the video, he is wearing a black, 25-liter ‘Ozark Trail Hiker Pack’ backpack.”
The video, released by FBI Director Kash Patel on Tuesday, showed the masked suspect approaching Guthrie’s front door and placing his hand over the Ring camera at one point.
Less than 24 hours later, a man named Carlos Palazuelos was detained for questioning and subsequently released. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said on Thursday more people will be detained in the coming days.
Authorities intend to question a man who was seen wearing a backpack in Ring camera footage recorded about 5 miles from Guthrie’s home around the time she went missing. The video was obtained by TMZ and is being reviewed by the FBI.
The new $100,000 reward is being offered for information leading to Guthrie’s location or to the arrest and conviction of those involved in her disappearance.
The case has received national attention because the missing woman is the mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie, who hasn’t appeared on the morning show amid the family emergency. The popular celebrity has posted several videos pleading with her mother’s alleged kidnapper.
One of those videos was released before a purported Monday deadline, by which the Guthrie family must have paid a $6 million Bitcoin ransom for the 84-year-old relative’s release. The deadline passed with no confirmed proof of life, leaving Guthrie’s fate uncertain.
NANCY GUTHRIE SEARCH STALLS AFTER AUTHORITIES RELEASE DETAINED SUSPECT
TMZ has received multiple letters from a person who claims to know the identity of Guthrie’s alleged kidnapper. The entertainment outlet received a follow-up message on Thursday that stated, “I am not being taken seriously.” The anonymous person asked for one Bitcoin in exchange for the information.
Investigators continued to search Guthrie’s home and the surrounding area in Tucson, Arizona, as the investigation nears its second week without a resolution.