A man has been taken into custody in connection with the disappearance of Nancy Gerstle, the mother of NBC’s Today show anchor Savannah Guthrie, authorities announced late Wednesday. The suspect was apprehended following a vehicle stop in Pima County, Arizona, nine days after Gerstle was reported missing.
Nancy Gerstle, 84, was last seen on February 1st after returning to her Tucson home following dinner with family. Her disappearance prompted a large-scale search involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and local law enforcement.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department confirmed the arrest, stating that the individual is currently being questioned. Authorities have not yet confirmed whether the suspect is the same person depicted in surveillance footage released earlier Wednesday by the FBI. The footage shows a masked individual approaching Gerstle’s home and appearing to tamper with a security camera.
The FBI had deployed its Evidence Response Team to a search area approximately one hour south of Tucson, in the Rio Rico area, acting on a court-authorized warrant. Simultaneously, investigators conducted door-to-door inquiries in the vicinity of another daughter’s residence, and even searched drainage ditches, according to a law enforcement official speaking to the New York Times on background.
A Rio Rico resident told local media that police had arrested her son-in-law and searched their home. The woman stated her son-in-law works in logistics and was taken into custody during a routine traffic stop while making food deliveries. She emphasized that the masked figure in the released surveillance footage was not her son-in-law.
Prior to the arrest, FBI Director Kathy Patel told Fox News that the investigation had made “significant progress” and that authorities were actively pursuing leads. The FBI had released the restored surveillance video showing the masked figure in an effort to identify the individual.
