The search of an Arizona home overnight by police looking for Nancy Guthrie has ended with authorities seemingly no closer to finding the missing 84-year-old.

The home — part of the semi-rural community of Rio Rico, about 60 miles south of Tucson, belongs to the family of a 36-year-old man who had been detained in a traffic stop and questioned for several hours overnight in connection with the kidnapping case. The man, whom The Times is not naming, was released from custody early Wednesday, shortly after deputies and FBI forensics experts and agents left the house.

Officials have not officially released the individual’s identity or offered any details about if or how the person might be connected to the case. The man told reporters outside the home that he’d never heard of the Guthrie family and hadn’t followed news about the case. Police didn’t ask him any questions while he was detained, he said.

“I hope they get the suspect, because I’m not it,” he told reporters. “They better do their job and find the suspect that did it so they can clear my name.”

FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News on Tuesday night that agents are looking at more than one individual as a “person of interest” in the case.

“We are looking at people who, as we say, are persons of interest,” Patel said.

The case took another bizarre turn Wednesday morning when TMZ announced that the outlet had received a letter demanding a payment of one bitcoin — worth about $67,000 at the time — in exchange for the name of Guthrie’s kidnapper.

“If they want the name of the individual involved, then I want 1 Bitcoin to the following wallet. Time is more than relevant,” the note stated, according to TMZ.

Authorities are already offering a $50,000 reward for information in the case.

The flurry of activity followed what had already been an eventful day for law enforcement investigating the case and the public avidly following it, with FBI officials releasing surveillance footage showing a masked individual approaching the front door of Guthrie’s Tucson home the morning she was abducted.

The footage marked the first major break in the investigation, which has spanned 11 days.

The images, recorded at 1:47 a.m. on Feb. 1, show someone wearing a balaclava, gloves and a backpack tampering with the Nest camera at Guthrie’s front door. A gun is holstered at the person’s waist, positioned at the front of their body where it is easily visible.

In the footage, the person approaches the front door, notices the camera and tries to cover the lens with their hand. Then they look around the patio and yard area, apparently for something to obstruct the camera, and settle on some greenery that they position in front of the lens.

When authorities arrived at the home in Arizona later that day, the camera was gone.

In an investigation with numerous dead ends, the footage was expected to be crucial in helping law enforcement move the case forward. But there is still no sign of Guthrie, who has been without medication since she was taken from her home on Feb. 1.

Pleas from the family for Guthrie’s return have become increasingly urgent as time has passed.

“Today” show anchor Savannah Guthrie, one of Nancy’s daughters, shared the footage of the masked individual at her mother’s front door in two posts on Instagram on Tuesday with a plea for the public’s help. In one post she says the family believes their mother is “still alive.”

“Someone out there recognizes this person,” she wrote. “We believe she is still out there. Bring her home.”

The University of Arizona women’s basketball team (11-13, 2-11 in Big 12) fell to the University of Cincinnati (9-16, 4-9 in Big 12) 77-61 on Tuesday, Feb. 10 in the Fifth Third Arena. 

Key players 

 Junior Sumayah Sugapong led the Wildcats with 20 points, five rebounds and four assists. Following Sugapong was Daniah Trammell who managed to collect 12 points along with three rebounds. Tanyuel Welch was strong on defense for the Wildcats with the most rebounds at seven. 

As for the Bearcats, Reagan Jackson paved the way with 19 points and two rebounds. Mya Perry was close behind with 17 points and three assists. Ramiyah Byrd was the most essential player all around during this game collecting 14 points and 15 rebounds. 

First half 

The Wildcats started strong as Bless Adebanjo made a jumper within the first 25 seconds getting the first points of the game. Arizona was able to maintain the lead for the first four minutes, but the Bearcats quickly tied up the game 6-6 after a fast break jumper by Caliyah Devillasee.

Reagan Jackson was sent to the line for Cincinnati after a foul on Kamryn Kitchen where she shot 2-for-2. Jackson’s shots brought the Bearcats in the lead 8-6. Cincinnati began to pull away but Arizona managed to hang close throughout the rest of the period. 

Ramiyah Byrd put in a second chance layup after getting the offensive rebound bringing Cincinnati up by 7 points. The Bearcats were able to go on a scoring run which built a larger gap going into the second period of 25-13. 

The Wildcats managed to get in one last point opportunity before the end of the quarter with a second chance jumper from Tanyuel Welch. 

The first quarter ended with Cincinnati in the lead 25-15. 

The second quarter consisted of lots of back and forth with both teams unable to score throughout the first three and a half minutes. The Wildcats managed to get the first points of the second quarter about seven minutes in with a 3-pointer from Sumayah Sugapong. 

Cincinnati almost doubled Arizona’s points 35-18 after Byrd got the defensive rebound then turned it into a layup. Arizona was able to turn their possession into some points with a jumper by Sugapong. Following this, the Bearcats went on a scoring spree, tallying 8 points within the span of a minute. 

The quarter finished with Joya Crawford shooting 2-for-2 from the stripe for the Bearcats. 

Cincinnati took the lead going into halftime 46-22. 

Second half 

The Wildcats came back from halftime strong as they managed to make two layups, one from Achol Magot and the other from Daniah Trammell. Arizona managed to make more shots this period, but they were unable to slow down Cincinnati’s shooting which kept them in a large deficit. 

Despite Cincinnati’s large lead, Arizona did not give up and chipped away at the gap. Welch made a driving layup to close out the third quarter 61-39. 

Following the pattern of the previous quarters, Arizona was the first to score with a layup by Trammell in the paint. After a missed 3-pointer from the Bearcats, Welch was able to get the rebound and turn it into Wildcats points on the fast break. 

The Wildcats demonstrated stronger defense and more hustle throughout the second half, but unfortunately it was not enough to override the power from Cincinnati. Once they fell behind, they were never able to fully recover to reduce the gap enough to regain the lead. 

Cincinnati took victory over Arizona 77-61.  

Looking forward 

Arizona will return home this weekend to take on their rivals ASU on Saturday, Feb. 14 at noon. This will be the second time this season these teams have met and the Wildcats will be looking for redemption on their home court. This game will also be streamed on ESPN+.  

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