The mother-in-law of the man who was detained in connection with Nancy Guthrie‘s disappearance has spoken out.
The Arizona woman, who identified herself as Josefina, told NewsNation she believes her son-in-law is innocent.
Josefina told the outlet that her son-in-law was inside their Rio Rico home when the 89-year-old vanished.
The person of interest was detained during a traffic stop, and was just miles from the Mexican border when police nabbed him.
‘My daughter and he, and the kids, my grandkids, were doing DoorDash when they got stopped here,’ she told the outlet of her son-in-law’s detainment.
She also told CNN authorities are searching her home after they received a tip related to the investigation.
‘I told them you can go in and search my house, there is nobody there. I have nothing to hide,’ Josefina said.
She said authorities are investigating her son-in-law, who she said was detained, but ‘he had nothing to do with that,’ she insisted.
Josefina added that authorities did not present a search warrant before entering her home.
An unidentified individual has been detained for questioning in connection with Today Show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother’s abduction
The 84 year old was reported missing after failing to attend a virtual church service with friends on February 1
Images from a Nest camera installed at Nancy Guthrie’s home were released by the FBI
‘I’m sorry what’s happened to [the Guthries],’ she said. ‘I don’t know her, I don’t know anything about their lives or what’s going on, but I’m so sorry – whoever took her, I hope she got back safe.’
Police showed Josefina the surveillance footage of suspect from Nancy Guthrie’s ring camera, but she said there was no resemblance to her son-in-law.
Video 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.
‘They showed me a video to see if it was him, to see … if I recognize the things he was wearing, he doesn’t have any of that. He doesn’t have anything that comes in the video,’ she told ABC15’s Lillian Donahue.
Josefina said her son-in-law was a ‘good guy,’ and has no prior criminal record, assuring that she was ‘positive’ he was at home when Guthrie was snatched.
‘On the weekends, he stays at my house. He doesn’t go nowhere,’ she told the outlet.
It is unclear whether police believe the detained person as the armed figure in the video, according to the New York Times.
A witness who spoke exclusively to the Daily Mail described the traffic stop where the person of interested was detained.
From the Instagram Account of Savannah Guthrie, featuring her mother, Nancy Guthrie
An individual is seen wearing a ski mask, and gloves outside Guthrie’s home
‘There were five or six unmarked cars and they had a silver SUV pulled over, a police car facing it. Two guys were out of a car, and their hats said “FBI,”‘ Krystal Bacica recounted.
‘The only police car that was marked said Marana Police,’ she continued, noting that ‘they pulled the car right in front of my apartment building in Frontage Road, Rio Rico.’
This is an ongoing story.
