Fox News host Sean Hannity interviewed FBI Director Kash Patel for an update on the kidnapping of Savannah Guthrie’s mom, Nancy Guthrie.
Fox News was interrupted for major breaking news on the case of Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance on Tuesday.
TV host Sean Hannity interviewed FBI Director Kash Patel after the agencyΒ released a doorbell videoΒ of a subject seen in front of the 84-year-old woman’s home in Tucson, Arizona,Β before she was kidnapped overnightΒ between January 31 and February 1.
Sharing further details on the case, Patel said the FBI is investigating “persons of interest” in connection with the disappearance, claiming that “substantial progress” has been made. It comes afterΒ an ex-FBI agent revealed the hidden codeword that Savannah used in her message to the kidnappers.
During the interview, Patel said the FBI’s “great partnerships with the private sector” allowed them to obtain footage from the doorbell camera, revealing an armed, masked man outside the property.
He said, “Things like this happen when you have great partnerships with the private sector.”
Sean Hannity interviewed Kash Patel on Fox NewsΒ (Image: Fox News)
The FBI director then said the public’s help had been key during the investigation as he shared, “This investigation of this magnitude was going to require the public’s assistance, which is why we put it out nearly immediately, the video, the photos, and sharpened images.
“And we continue to receive tips, and we encourage all Americans to provide any and all tips. And based upon that, we were to expand the investigation and take the appropriate next steps, which is what we’re doing and what you’re seeing unfold.”
Patel added that, in addition to the footage, the FBI also retrieved relevant information about potential persons of interest.
He said, “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.”
Asked for further details, Patel said the FBI was “looking at people” who are “persons of interest.”
The director’s comments came as a person was detained for questioning following a traffic stop in Rio Rico, about an hour’s drive south of Tucson, on February 10.
But according toΒ ABC News 15 Arizona, the man who claimsΒ he was detained by Pima County Sheriff’s Deputies for “kidnapping” Nancy has now been released.
The man, who only wants to be identified as Carlos, said he was held at the scene of the initial traffic stop for hours.
“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 ABC Arizona’s Ford Hatchett.
Nancy Guthrie is still missingΒ (Image: Savannah Guthrie/Instagram)
He added, “I told them β¦ I might have delivered a package to their house, but I never kidnapped anybody.β
The latest update came after authorities in Rio Rico were seen searching a vehicle in connection with the disappearance of Nancy, according to footage filmed by CNN on the scene.
The Pima County Sheriff’s confirmed that the vehicle, a gray SUV, was the one pulled over during a traffic stop, during which a person was stopped and taken in for questioning.
Despite several messages shared by Today Show host Savannah and her siblings on social media, addressed to their mother’s captors, Nancy hasn’t returned home yet and remains missing.
The investigation, led by the FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, continues.
