The FBI is looking at multiple persons of interest in the search for Nancy Guthrie’s kidnapper, FBI Director Kash Patel said hours after releasing multiple surveillance stills and videos of an armed suspect outside her house.
“Without polluting the investigation, I will say we have made substantial progress in these last 36 to 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,” Patel told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Tuesday night.
“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,” he added.
“We were able to exploit information pursuant to our private sector partner engagements that showed us that there might be persons of interest in and around the area related to this event,” Patel said.
“First and foremost, our priority is to find Nancy Guthrie. And, of course, right behind that is to find anyone and any others involved in this kidnapping case to make sure they’re brought to justice,” he said. “And that’s what we’re doing, protecting the integrity of the investigation, but we’re also being very public.”
Director Patel was speaking after authorities in Arizona detained an individual in Rio Rico, Arizona, south of Tucson, in connection with Nancy’s disappearance.
The individual, FedEx delivery driver Carlos Palazuelos, was later released without charge early Wednesday morning.
Palazuelos told reporters that he had never even heard of Nancy Guthrie because he didn’t watch the news.
On Tuesday, surveillance footage showing the alleged kidnapper of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother on the morning of her disappearance was released by authorities.
The stills and video from Nancy’s Nest doorbell camera showed an individual wearing a ski mask, thick gloves, a zipped-up jacket and a backpack, with an apparent gun holstered at the front.
During his appearance on “Hannity,” Patel also touted the “brilliant partnership” between the FBI and local law enforcement that led to the release of the latest footage.
Last week, the FBI was brought into the investigation to support the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.
The Bureau announced it was offering a $50,000 reward for any information leading to Nancy’s discovery.