An Arizona woman said she was stunned to discover that her home had been searched as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie — and that her son-in-law had been detained during a traffic stop before later being released.
The woman, identified as Josefina, told ABC15 reporter Lillian Donahue that investigators repeatedly entered and exited her home in Rio Rico, taking photographs and examining the property. “I don’t know why,” she said, appearing confused about the sudden law enforcement presence.
According to Josefina, authorities showed her surveillance footage taken outside the Tucson residence of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Savannah Guthrie, who was reported missing on February 1. Investigators asked whether she recognized the clothing worn by the individual captured on camera. Josefina said she did not.
“They showed me a video to see if it was him, to see if I recognized the things he was wearing,” she explained. “He doesn’t have any of that. He doesn’t have anything that comes in the video.” When asked directly whether the person in the footage resembled her son-in-law, she responded firmly: “No, it doesn’t look like him. No, not at all.”
Her son-in-law, identified only as Carlos, works as a delivery driver. He was reportedly detained for several hours on February 10 while detectives questioned him about Nancy’s disappearance. Josefina emphasized that he has not been in trouble with the law since he was a minor and maintained that he had done nothing wrong.
Authorities arrived at the home — located roughly 15 miles north of the Mexican border — after receiving a tip suggesting that the missing woman might be there. Josefina told NewsNation that officers forced entry into her house while she was not home, breaking down doors and bringing her son into the living room for questioning.
Carlos later told ABC15 that he works in Tucson delivering packages for GLS and may have previously dropped off a package at Nancy’s residence as part of his route. However, he denied any involvement in her disappearance. “I told them, I work in Tucson for GLS, I might have delivered a package to her house but I never kidnapped anybody,” he said, adding that he was held from approximately 4 p.m. until late in the evening.
At the time of his detention, Carlos was reportedly making DoorDash deliveries with his wife and children. Josefina said she was unsure what questions investigators asked him during the hours-long interrogation.
She also stated that officers confiscated the cellphones of family members during the search, though the devices, along with Carlos and the family vehicle, were eventually returned. No charges have been filed against him.
Josefina admitted she was not closely following the Nancy Guthrie case and had only seen limited information about it on Facebook. “I have nothing to hide,” she said. “You can go in my house, you can search anything you want. There’s nothing to hide. I don’t know the lady.”
Earlier that same day, the FBI released images of a masked individual seen tampering with a doorbell camera outside Nancy’s Tucson home. The suspect appeared to be armed and was carrying a backpack while moving around the patio area shortly before the elderly woman vanished. The footage marked the first public glimpse of a possible suspect as the search entered its tenth day.
