US makes arrest in connection with disappearance of TV host’s mother 

United States authorities have arrested a person in connection with the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of high-profile news anchor Samantha Guthrie, who disappeared earlier this month in a case that has gripped the nation.

News of Tuesday’s arrest came shortly after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released surveillance videos of a person in a balaclava wearing a handgun holster outside Nancy Guthrie’s front door on the night she vanished from her home in the city of Tucson, Arizona.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the “armed individual” in the black and white videos, which offered the public a first glimpse of who was involved in the February 1 kidnapping, appeared to have “tampered” with a front-door camera outside the 84-year-old’s home.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said Tuesday that deputies arrested a person for questioning during a traffic stop south of Tucson, adding that it was conducting a court-authorised search along with the FBI at a location in Rio Rico, about an hour’s drive south of Guthrie’s home and about 24km (15 miles) north of the US-Mexico border.

Authorities had already said they believed the victim, who is described as mentally sound but with little mobility, was taken against her will, with DNA tests revealing blood on her porch was hers, but until Tuesday’s arrest and the release of the footage, they appeared to be making little headway on the case.

Savannah Guthrie, co-host of the NBC News’ Today show, posted the new surveillance images on social media Tuesday, saying she and her two siblings, who have already indicated a willingness to pay ransom, believed their mother was still alive.

Until now, authorities have left it unclear whether ransom notes demanding money with deadlines that have already passed were authentic.

Connor Hagan, a spokesperson for the FBI, which has posted digital billboards about the case in major cities from Texas to California, said Monday that the agency was not aware of ongoing communication between Guthrie’s family and any suspected kidnappers.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said repeatedly that Nancy Guthrie takes several medications, prompting concerns from the start that she could die without them.

Former FBI agent Katherine Schweit told The Associated Press news agency that the released footage would “get the phone ringing for lots of potential leads” even if the individual’s face was covered.

“Even when you have a person who appears to be completely covered, they’re really not. You can see their girth, the shape of their face, potentially their eyes or mouth,” she said.