A Person Was Detained and Released in Relation to the Nancy Guthrie Case

The details of the apparent kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Today host Savannah Guthrie, have made national headlines for more than a week now. On Feb. 10, news broke that someone had been detained for questioning in relation to the case.

Following the news that someone had been detained, many people wanted to know more about the person who was detained, and whether the news represents any sort of breakthrough in the case. Here's what we know.

For totally appropriate reasons, authorities did not release the full name of the person who was detained in the case. He was brought in for questioning, and is not even confirmed to be a suspect. He was referred to only as Carlos, and CNN reported on Feb. 11 that he had been released from custody.

“I hope they get the suspect, because I’m not it," he told The New York Times following his release.

It seems, then, like Carlos might not actually be connected to the case, or at least authorities do not have enough to charge him with anything yet. FBI Director Kash Patel, meanwhile, is offering assurances that they are putting their full force behind the investigation.

“We are looking at people who, as we say, are persons of interest,” he said during an interview with Fox News about the case.

The news that someone had been detained in relation to the case came the same day the FBI released surveillance footage from Nancy's house that appeared to show masked men approaching her door in the minutes leading up to the kidnapping. The stills from the footage are unsettling, but have been released in the hopes that someone will be able to identify the person in them and help bring Nancy home.

Although the Guthrie family is understandably feeling quite desperate about their mother, Savannah shared the images being circulated along with the FBI along with the message "We believe she is still alive. Bring her home."

In a follow-up post, Savannah added more footage along with the caption "Someone out there recognizes this person. We believe she is still out there. Bring her home."

There's plenty we still don't know about Nancy's disappearance, but we do know that the kidnapper is holding Nancy for ransom, and has contacted authorities on multiple occasions. What seems clear, though, is that the investigation has not been smooth sailing, and even the person detained in relation to the case might not have produced any useful information.

Nancy's case has earned national attention in part because of how unusual the circumstances around it are (octogenarians don't get kidnapped every day) and in part because her daughter is such a prominent figure. The Guthries appear to believe that their mother is still alive, but it doesn't seem like authorities are all that close to finding out where she is and bringing her home.