Mother-in-law of man detained by FBI 'positive' he was home during Nancy Guthrie's abduction
RIO RICO, ARIZONA: A woman speaking to reporters with CNN in a newly circulating video claimed FBI agents searched her home after receiving a tip about Savannah Guthrie's missing mom Nancy Guthrie.
The woman, identifying herself as Josefina, the homeowner and mother-in-law of a man detained for questioning, insisted her family has no connection to the case.
The video has been widely shared online and a reporter wrote that he spoke with the detained man’s mother-in-law, who said agents seized the family’s electronic devices and were executing a search warrant.
It is to be noted here that neither the FBI nor the sheriff's office has revealed any name for the person who was detained for questioning. The person in custody has not been charged against any crime related to the case.
Woman denies son-in-law link in Nancy Guthrie case
In the CNN clip, Josefina told reporters that investigators said they received a tip claiming Guthrie was in her house.
“No, they came out telling us that uh they had somebody gave a tip that the lady was in my house. I don't know her name”, the woman is heard saying.
“And I told them you can go in and search my house, there's nobody there. I have nothing to hide. There's nobody in my house and I don't know what's going on.”
The reporter then asked the woman, “Do you have any family members that might know?”
“No, they're investigating my son-in-law; he has nothing to do with that either," the woman replied.
The woman claimed her son-in-law was detained for questioning and that investigators appeared focused on him.
She insisted he had nothing to do with the missing woman. “He has nothing to do with it either,” said the woman about her son-in-law.
Rio Rico woman says FBI found nothing in Nancy search
“I don't know what's going what else to say. They're just invading my property. I told them.”
“They're going in and out my house taking a lot of pictures and everything. I mean, like I told them, we're not hiding anything. I gave them permission, you can go in search. There's nothing in my house. You won't find anything.” she said.
When asked if anyone in her family knew Guthrie, she responded that they did not know her at all and that she only recognized the name from social media.
Woman claims FBI broke door, seized devices in Nancy Guthrie probe
She claimed the situation escalated quickly before she arrived home.
According to her account in the video, she was returning from Tucson when she learned agents had already entered the residence.
“I was coming from Tucson when they had my son outside the house.”
“They broke in my house without a warning or nothing. They broke my door. They went inside my house; my son was playing on Nintendo.”
The woman said she questioned whether agents had a warrant at the time and claimed she did not receive a clear answer immediately.
She also alleged that investigators continued moving in and out of the home, taking photographs, while she and her family were not allowed inside.
Later, when the reporter asked if her son-in-law worked in Tucson, the woman said, “He works in Tucson.”
“He's a delivering guy. He does uh, like uh,uh, FedEx or something like that.”
At one point, she claimed investigators showed her images and video footage and asked whether she recognized clothing worn by a person in the material.
She said she did not and maintained her son-in-law did not own anything matching what was shown.
Speaking to NewsNation correspondent Brian Entin, Josefina claimed, “My daughter and he, and the kids, my grandkids, were doing DoorDash when they got stopped here." This account seems more in tune with the revelation by the Pima County Sheriff's office about a person being detained while on a traffic stop in Rio Rico.
Josefina described her son-in-law as a “good guy” with no criminal record or history of violence.
When shown surveillance images from Nancy Guthrie’s Ring camera, she denied that the individual resembled her son-in-law.
Josefina said she was “postive” her son-in-law was at home when Nancy Guthrie went missing.
“He stays at my house on weekends. He doesn’t go anywhere,” she explained.
When asked if he could have left during the night, she replied, “Oh, no, no,” noting that his van is currently out of service.
She further told Entin that her son-in-law and her daughter are living in her home after being evicted from their residence and are awaiting their tax refund to have sufficient funds to move out.
