Carlos Palazuelos, the man who was taken into custody for questioning in connection with the Nancy Guthrie investigation, has now been released, reported CNN, citing its affiliate KNXV on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, law enforcement apprehended Palazuelos for questioning following a traffic stop in Rio Rico, located an hour's drive south of Tucson, close to the US-Mexico border.
The detention was conducted based on investigative leads. However, the person was not charged, according to a law enforcement official who spoke to CNN at that time.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department announced on Wednesday that investigators had concluded their search of a property in Rio Rico.
Carlos Palazuelos' mother-in-law speaks out after his arrest
The mother-in-law of Palazuelos maintains that he is innocent. Speaking with NewsNation's senior national correspondent Brian Entin, a woman who introduced herself as “Josefina” stated that her son-in-law was present in her residence in Rio Rico, Arizona, during the period when Guthrie went missing.
{{/usCountry}}The mother-in-law of Palazuelos maintains that he is innocent. Speaking with NewsNation's senior national correspondent Brian Entin, a woman who introduced herself as “Josefina” stated that her son-in-law was present in her residence in Rio Rico, Arizona, during the period when Guthrie went missing.
{{/usCountry}}The person detained during a traffic stop is not currently being labeled as a suspect.
She disclosed that Carlos and her daughter are residing in her house after being evicted from their previous home and are currently waiting for their tax refund to secure enough funds to relocate.
“My daughter and he, and the kids, my grandkids, were doing DoorDash when they got stopped here,” Josefina told the outlet.
“They already asked us a lot of questions about him. Like I said, I have nothing to hide. You can go in my house. You can search anything you want. There’s nothing to hide. I don’t know the lady, I don’t know about the lady. I saw her (missing) on Facebook,” she added.
Carlos Palazuelos' mother-in-law calls him a ‘good guy’
Calling her son-in-law a “good guy”, Josefina asserted that he has no criminal record or history of violence. When presented with surveillance images of the person captured by Nancy Guthrie's ring camera, Josefina said that it did not resemble Carlos.
She further noted that she was “certain” her son-in-law was at home when Guthrie went missing. “On the weekends, he stays at my house. He doesn’t go nowhere,” she told NewsNation.
When questioned about the possibility of leaving during the night, Josefina responded, "Oh, no, no," further explaining that his van is presently inoperative.