Carlos Palazuelos: Mother-in-Law Denies He Has Involvement With Nancy Guthrie
Carlos Palazuelos was named live on the air by his mother-in-law as the man allegedly detained in the Nancy Guthrie disappearance, a case that has transfixed the nation. The woman gave Palazuelos's name during a CNN broadcast, but she adamantly denied that Palazuelos had anything to do with the Guthrie abduction.
The woman, whose name was not given on the air, also denied any involvement in the case but said law enforcement was searching her house in Rio Rico, Arizona. In fact, she said that she had given law enforcement consent to search her house because she had nothing to hide. She insisted they would find nothing and certainly not Guthrie. Nogales Internationaladded, "She said her son-in-law is a good man, good father, has no criminal record and wouldn't do anything like this...She gave his name on the air with several television outlets." His name then spread widely on social media.
CNN said the woman gave her name as Josefina. Nogales International gave her name as Josefina Maddox; public records link Josefina Maddox to the street name printed by CNN as the location of the home search. Public records do link Carlos Palazuelos to an address in Rio Rico and a person with the last name Maddox; that person, in turn, is linked in public records to Josefina Maddox.
It was the latest in a day and evening of dramatic developments in a case that had seemingly stalled until February 10. To be clear, authorities have not named Palazuelos as the person they detained; he also has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Guthrie's disappearance. And, again, the relative insists he has nothing to do with Guthrie or her alleged abduction.
The Mother-in-Law of Carlos Palazuelos Insisted, 'He Has Nothing to Do With It, Either'
BREAKING: Carlos Palezuela(?) of Rio Rico, AZ has been identified by his mother-in-law as the person in custody regarding the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie pic.twitter.com/NEZqeVFjYS
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) February 11, 2026
The mother-in-law spoke to CNN, surrounded by reporters. "I have nothing to hide,” she told CNN. “There’s nobody in the house. I don’t know what’s going on. They’re investigating my son-in-law.” She said authorities were going in and out of her house and “taking a lot of pictures.” She said that “somebody gave a tip that the lady was in my house. I don't know her name. We don't know her. I don’t know who she is. I don't know anything about her."
The woman added: "They said they gave a tip that she was in my house. And I told them, 'You can go in and search the house. There's nobody there.'"
"They're investigating my son-in-law," she said. "He has nothing to do with it, either...They're invading my property, taking a lot of pictures." She then named him. She said she told the authorities that they wouldn't find anything because "there's nothing to hide." She added that her son-in-law, Palazuelos, had not said anything about Guthrie. She saw the stories about Guthrie in passing on Facebook, but she didn't read them because "I don't know her." The mother-in-law confirmed of Palazuelos, "He was detained."
In its written report, CNN confirmed authorities were searching a car and a home and mentioned the woman's account. According to CNN, the detention was based on "investigative leads," but the individual has not been charged. A law enforcement source told CNN that, despite the detention, authorities still do not know the location of Nancy Guthrie.
CNN also published footage of the vehicle being searched, describing it as a gray SUV that was pulled over in the traffic stop where the subject was detained. CNN named the road where the search was taking place as Camino Agosto.
Carlos Palazuelos Works as a Delivery Driver, the Mother-in-Law Says
Fox News' Brian Entin says the suspect was working as a delivery driver when he was pulled over and detained. The mother-in-law also said that he is a delivery driver in Tucson, but she named a different company. According to the woman, she was shown the surveillance video by authorities, but she claimed her son-in-law doesn’t have similar clothing to the masked person whose image was captured outside Guthrie's home on the evening of her disappearance.
"Just spoke with the mother-in-law of the man who is detained. She owns the house and says there’s an ongoing search warrant, and they took all of their electronic devices. She insists her son-in-law is not involved," Entin added.
ABC News cautioned, "There's no indication that the person who was detained is the figure seen in the newly released video footage."
Ever since the 84-year-old mother of TODAY Show co-host Savannah Guthrie vanished from her Tucson home, details have trickled out. Her blood droplets were found on the porch of her home, her door camera was tampered with, and her pacemaker was disconnected from her Apple Watch after 2 a.m. But where was the missing grandmother and mother of three? That's still unclear.
Those details were released at a sheriff's press conference, but the investigation seemed to stall, at least publicly, for a week, with the only new development being a series of mysterious ransom notes sent to local news outlets and TMZ. They demanded bitcoin. Then, suddenly, on February 10, everything changed.
First, the FBI released disturbing photos and videos of the masked person who authorities believe was trying to tamper with Guthrie's camera. Authorities worked for a week to extract the images, and they provided key clues about the abductor. "We are looking at people who, as we say, are persons of interest,” FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News. But he didn't provide names.
New images in the search for Nancy Guthrie:
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) February 10, 2026
Over the last eight days, the FBI and Pima County Sheriff’s Department have been working closely with our private sector partners to continue to recover any images or video footage from Nancy Guthrie’s home that may have been lost,… pic.twitter.com/z5WLgPtZpT
And then the big reveal. The Pima County sheriff confirmed that a subject was detained after a traffic stop. The motive is not yet clear. That's when authorities moved to Rio Rico, and the media followed, interviewing the mother-in-law. The sheriff stopped short of referring to the detained person as a "person of interest" or suspect, though. And they haven't revealed what evidence led them to the subject; they also have not released his name.
Authorities Conducted a 'Court-Ordered Search' in Rio Rico, Arizona
FBI
According to NBC News, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI’s Evidence Response Team were "conducting a court-authorized search tonight (February 10) at a location in Rio Rico, Arizona, that is related to the Guthrie investigation."
CBS News similarly reported, citing two law enforcement sources, that "the residence of the person of interest, located in Rio Rico, Arizona — about 12 miles from the Mexican border — was being searched by local and federal authorities under a court order."
The news broke on the evening of February 10, reported first by ABC News, with other national news outlets following suit. Then came the confirmation: "The subject is currently being questioned in connection to the Nancy Guthrie investigation," the Sheriff's department said, revealing that the person was detained after a traffic stop "south of Tucson."
Nancy Guthrie, an 84-year-old widow, is a mother of three. In addition to Savannah, her disappearance thrust her other children into the news; her daughter, Annie Guthrie, is a poet and author, and her son, Camron Guthrie, is a retired F-16 pilot. Annie is married to Tommaso Cioni, an Italian-born teacher and band member who was also thrust into the news. To be clear, none of the Guthries has been accused by authorities of wrongdoing; Cioni hasn't, either.
Sheriff Chris Nanos Previously Released a Detailed Timeline
FBI
Early on, in a news conference, the sheriff released a timeline of events, saying that Nancy took an Uber to her daughter Annie's house for dinner and games, and then the family brought her home. The New York Times later reported that Tommaso Cioni dropped Guthrie off at her home safely, according to the sheriff.
According to the sheriff, the garage door opened at 9:48 p.m. on January 31, so that's when authorities believe Nancy arrived home from her daughter's house. Authorities believe she went to sleep.
At 2:12 a.m., Sheriff Chris Nanos said in the earlier news conference, software “detects a person on a camera, but there’s no video available. They had no subscription, and therefore, it would rewrite itself; it just kind of loops and covers up.” However, authorities continued working to extract images, and eventually they did so, leading to their big break.
At 2:28 a.m., “Nancy’s pacemaker app shows it was a disconnect from the phone," Nanos said. The next morning, she didn't show up for a church service, and her family reported her missing, according to the sheriff. And the search was on.
It's still on, as well. Where is Nancy Guthrie? That's not clear. Her daughter, Savannah, wrote on Instagram, about 10 hours before the mother-in-law went on the air, "We believe she is still alive. Bring her home."