Woman Reveals Son-in-Law Was Detained As Home Is Searched in Nancy Guthrie Disappearance Case

A woman in Arizona says her son-in-law was detained as police searched her home in the Nancy Guthrie case. She insists he is innocent and disputes new surveillance images.

Police swarmed a quiet Arizona home this week, and what happened next left one woman publicly defending her family.

As the search unfolded in the Nancy Guthrie disappearance case, she says her son-in-law was detained, and her front door was left broken behind yellow tape.

Search at Rio Rico Home

According to live updates from The New York Times, investigators searched a home in Rio Rico, Arizona, on Tuesday as part of the ongoing probe into Nancy's disappearance.

Outside the property, a woman identified as Josefina told reporters that the man detained by police is her son-in-law, Carlos Palazuelos.

She said investigators had been "swarming" her house and broke down the door. After speaking with reporters and criticizing how police treated her family and home, she walked past the yellow crime tape toward her door.

He Was Working, She Says

Josefina shared that her son-in-law was working, delivering food, when he was stopped by authorities and detained.

She said Carlos had been DoorDashing with his wife and children when officers stopped them and took him into custody. His wife and children were not detained.

In an interview shared on X, Josefina insisted that her son-in-law is innocent and had nothing to do with Nancy Guthrie's disappearance. She described him as a "good guy" with no criminal record or history of violence.

When asked whether he had ever been in trouble, she responded, "Yes, when he was underage."

She also said he spends the weeks in Tucson working in the shipping business and staying with his mother. According to Josefina, Carlos and her daughter have been saving to rent their own apartment.

She added that she asked the police to contact his employer to confirm he was working at the time.

Doorbell Video Dispute

Earlier that day, authorities released doorbell camera footage connected to the case.

But Josefina was adamant that the person shown in the surveillance images was not her son-in-law.

After being shown the photos, she said the man in the footage did not resemble Carlos. She pointed out that he does not carry a backpack like the individual seen in the images and said even the outfit did not look like anything he owns.

"I don't know the lady. I don't know about the lady," she said, referring to Nancy.

Inside the Search

Josefina said she was not home when her son-in-law was detained. When she arrived, she found her door busted and officers still searching the house.

She said she asked police whether they had a warrant to search her home and claimed they told her they did not need one.

During the search, she said police took everyone's phones, including those belonging to her daughter, husband, and grandchildren.

At one point in the interview, she referred to Carlos as her son. She also revealed that before this moment, she had only come across news of Nancy's disappearance on Facebook.

Carlos Speaks After Release

Hours after the detention, a man identifying himself only as Carlos spoke to CBS News outside his home in Rio Rico.

He said he had been stopped at 4 p.m., questioned in connection with the kidnapping, and later released.

"I didn't do anything. ... I'm innocent," he said.

Carlos said he does not know Nancy Guthrie and does not understand why investigators believed he might be connected to her disappearance.

At the time of this publication, authorities have not confirmed that Carlos was the person of interest or that the person of interest has been released.

His release, however, does not mark an end to the case.

Nancy Guthrie Still Missing

Nancy, the 84-year-old mother of "Today" co-host Savannah Guthrie, has been missing since February 1, 2026.

Authorities believe she was abducted from her Tucson home during the night.

The FBI released images Tuesday of a person wearing a ski mask and gloves at her door. An apparent ransom note demanding payment in bitcoin set a deadline that passed Monday, and an FBI spokesperson told CBS News that investigators were not aware of any continued communication.

Savannah and her siblings have released videos urging the public to share tips. Meanwhile, investigators completed their search of the Rio Rico property just before 1 a.m. Wednesday, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said, according to CNN.

CNN footage showed investigators searching a vehicle connected to the case. Former police detective Mike McCutcheon told CNN that vehicles can be an "amazing" source of evidence.

"We live in our vehicles, we do everything in our vehicles, whether it’s committing crimes or not," he said.

"If Guthrie was in the car, particularly if she’s moving or struggling, she’s going to leave some evidence behind," McCutcheon said.

As of early Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriff's Department told CBS News that Nancy Guthrie has not been found.

The investigation remains ongoing.