Josefina, the mother-in-law of a man detained in connection with the disappearance of 89-year-old Nancy Guthrie, has broken her silence, vehemently asserting her son-in-law’s innocence. Speaking to media outlets, including NewsNation and CNN, Josefina painted a picture of a man who was at home with his family at the time of Mrs. Guthrie’s vanishing.
The man in question was apprehended during a traffic stop in Rio Rico, Arizona, just a short distance from the Mexican border. Josefina explained that her daughter, her son-in-law, and her grandchildren were actively engaged in DoorDash deliveries when they were pulled over by authorities.
Police Activity at Josefina’s Home
Josefina also revealed that law enforcement had been searching her residence, acting on a tip related to the ongoing investigation into Mrs. Guthrie’s disappearance. She stated unequivocally that she granted them permission to search, emphasising her transparency. “I told them you can go in and search my house, there is nobody there. I have nothing to hide,” Josefina told CNN. She maintained that her son-in-law, despite his detainment, had no involvement in Mrs. Guthrie’s case. Josefina further noted that the authorities did not present a search warrant before entering her property.
Expressing her sympathy for the Guthrie family, Josefina conveyed her sorrow over the situation. “I’m sorry what’s happened to [the Guthries],” she said. “I don’t know her, I don’t know anything about their lives or what’s going on, but I’m so sorry – whoever took her, I hope she got back safe.”
Discrepancies with Surveillance Footage
When presented with surveillance footage from Mrs. Guthrie’s ring camera, which showed an armed individual in a ski mask, backpack, and black latex gloves tampering with and removing the camera, Josefina found no resemblance to her son-in-law. She recounted the experience: “They showed me a video to see if it was him, to see … if I recognize the things he was wearing, he doesn’t have any of that. He doesn’t have anything that comes in the video,” she told ABC15’s Lillian Donahue.
Josefina described her son-in-law as a “good guy” with no prior criminal history. She was adamant that he was at home when Mrs. Guthrie was taken. “On the weekends, he stays at my house. He doesn’t go nowhere,” she insisted.
It remains unclear whether the detained individual is believed by police to be the suspect captured in the surveillance footage, according to reports from The New York Times.
Witness Account of the Traffic Stop
A witness, Krystal Bacica, provided a detailed account of the traffic stop where the person of interest was detained, speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail. Bacica described seeing a significant police presence, including five or six unmarked vehicles and a marked Marana Police car, surrounding a silver SUV. “There were five or six unmarked cars and they had a silver SUV pulled over, a police car facing it. Two guys were out of a car, and their hats said ‘FBI,'” she recounted. The vehicle was stopped directly in front of her apartment building on Frontage Road in Rio Rico.
This is a developing story.
