A man who was briefly detained and questioned by law enforcement in connection with the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie maintains he is innocent and had no involvement in the case, according to statements he made after his release.
The Arizona man, Carlos Palazuelos, 36, was taken into custody earlier this week outside of Tucson and questioned by investigators as part of the ongoing probe into the 84-year-old’s disappearance. Law enforcement officials have described the interview as part of standard investigative procedures and have not identified the man as a suspect.
In comments to reporters after his release, the man said he cooperated with authorities and reaffirmed his innocence.
“They didn’t even tell me what’s going on until the detectives got here … They told me I was being detained for kidnapping, and I asked them, ‘Kidnapping of who?’” Carlos told ABC15.
When told it was in connection with Nancy Guthrie, he replied, “Yeah, that’s her. And I told him, I work in Tucson for GLS. I might have delivered a package to your house, but I never kidnapped anybody. They held me from like 4 pm (local time) to right now.”
Authorities had previously indicated that a search was being prepared at a location connected to the man. Carlos later said that the property referenced by investigators belonged to his in-laws.
He added that investigators ultimately told him there was limited evidence tying him to the case, which he said factored into the decision to release him.
“Like, they didn’t have, no, it was insufficient evidence. Like, they only had a phone on me. That’s all they had,” he said.
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Carlos said that although deputies with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department informed him that he was no longer under investigation, he was told that other law enforcement agencies could still request to speak with him.
“That I’m free to go,” he said. “Yeah. And Pima County, they already cleared me, but the FBI, they might not or something like that.”
He repeatedly denied involvement, stating, “I’m innocent. I’ll let you know that. I didn’t do anything.”
Carlos said he believes investigators questioned him after a relative reportedly told authorities that his eyes appeared similar to those of the masked individual seen in surveillance footage released in the case.
“Until right now, all I know is that they showed my in-law a picture of somebody wearing a mask, or something, and they supposedly looked like my eyes,” he said.
Guthrie, the mother of Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, was reported missing on Jan. 31 from her home in the Catalina Foothills area north of Tucson. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are leading the investigation.
Authorities have not publicly disclosed details about any evidence linking the man to Guthrie’s disappearance, and no suspects or persons of interest have been formally named. Officials have urged members of the public with information about the case to contact law enforcement.
Investigators continue to review evidence, including surveillance footage and other leads, as the search for Guthrie enters its second week.
FBI Director Kash Patel has revealed that the agency and local law enforcement are looking at multiple persons of interest in the search for Nancy. 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.
“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 during an interview on “Hannity.”