RIO RICO, AZ — A man who says he was detained by Pima County Sheriff's deputies for "kidnapping" Nancy Guthrie spoke first to ABC15 immediately following his release.
On Tuesday night, authorities confirmed that they had detained a man during a traffic stop in a location south of Tucson, the source said, and law enforcement is preparing to search a location associated with the individual
In the interview, the man, who identified himself as "Carlos," says he was held at the scene of the initial traffic stop for hours.
TIMELINE: What we know about the investigation into Guthrie's disappearance
"They didn't even tell me what's going on until the detectives got here... They told me I was being detained for kidnapping, and I asked them, "Kidnapping of who?"" Carlos said.
Watch the interview in the player above.
The individual detained for questioning in connection with the disappearance and abduction of Nancy Guthrie had been on the radar of the FBI and Pima County Sheriff’s Department before Tuesday's public release of the images of a masked subject at her front door, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
The individual, who identified himself as Carlos, was detained for questioning in Rio Rico, Arizona, south of Tucson, after the FBI identified him by using a series of electronic investigative tools, including cell phone usage information and traffic data, the sources said, without specifying the exact techniques.
A local judge from Santa Cruz County, Arizona, signed the warrant for the search of Carlos's house, which was carried out overnight.
Carlos was questioned for several hours before being released without charge. He is under no law enforcement restrictions.
Separately, investigators are studying every pixel of the new video the FBI released publicly on Tuesday to try to find any identifying feature, including the apparent weapon and characteristics of what the subject was wearing, according to the sources.
