Man detained with his mother in Nancy Guthrie kidnapping case breaks silence: ‘I have nothing to do’

Luke Daley hadn’t said a word until now.In case you’re wondering about who Luke Daley is, it’s the man who was briefly detained alongside his elderly mother during the high-profile search for missing 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie.

For weeks, his name got dragged through headlines and social media feeds after police detained him and his elderly mother during the frantic search for missing 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie.Now, for the first time since the SWAT raid on his Tucson home, Daley is breaking his silence and insisting he had nothing to do with her disappearance.

What happened?

Back on February 13, a SWAT team showed up at Daley’s house, about two miles away from Nancy Guthrie’s place.

Police had a search warrant. Daley, 37, and his 77-year-old mom spent hours in custody, but by the end of the day, both were released. No charges. Nothing stuck.So why was Daley even a suspect? He says it started online. People online noticed the Nest doorbell footage investigators released: a masked person carrying a backpack, caught on camera the night Nancy vanished. It was somehow decided that Daley looked like the masked figure, and as rumors took off, it didn’t take long for the police to come knocking.

What did Luke Daley say?

In an interview with True Crime Arizona host Briana Whitney, Daley set the record straight.“It’s not me. I don’t see the resemblance. Absolutely not. I have nothing to do with this case,” he told the host. Daley also shared that he believes the authorities focused on him because of online gossip rather than any real evidence.“Someone says something, and then they just go off of it based on no evidence, no truth,” he said.

He also made it clear that if he actually knew anything about where Nancy is, he’d tell the police in a heartbeat.“I, like everyone else, just want Nancy to come home and be safe,” Daley affirmed.

Who is Nancy Guthrie, and what happened?

For those who are catching up, Nancy Guthrie, 84, mother of the media personality Savannah Guthrie and her siblings, was last seen at her Tucson home on January 31, 2026. The next day, she didn’t show up for a virtual church service, which set off alarm bells.

Her house told a worrying story: signs of a struggle, electronics unplugged. Police quickly labeled it a likely kidnapping. They put out surveillance images of a masked, armed stranger at Nancy’s front door, hoping the public could help crack the case.Since then, per People, investigators have been all over the map. Several people have been detained and questioned, but nobody’s been charged. At one point, they stopped a person of interest during a traffic stop south of Tucson and searched a property in Rio Rico.

That person was also released without charges.The raid on Daley’s house earlier this month was dramatic, but once again, nothing came of it. Neither Daley nor his mom has been arrested, and police haven’t found any evidence linking them to Nancy’s disappearance.

Where does the case stand now?

As of early March, the search for Nancy Guthrie is still very much alive. Per People, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI keep chasing leads, sifting through camera footage, and analyzing every clue they can.

Nancy’s family has gone public, pushing awareness and even offering a USD 1 million reward for information leading to her safe return, on top of the USD 100,000 the FBI put up. Savannah Guthrie and other family members have made tearful pleas and visited makeshift memorials at Nancy’s home, hoping for a breakthrough.However, police admit they’re running low on solid leads. They’re shifting resources, trying new angles, and refusing to give up until either Nancy is found or every last possibility is checked. For now, the case is stuck, but the search goes on.