Nancy Guthrie Update: Is Zack Jaghoub the 'Masked Man'?

At a Culver's parking lot on North 1st Avenue—hardly the kind of place you expect to become a crime-scene waypoint—federal agents and local deputies were filmed inspecting a gray Range Rover behind a yellow tarp, then towing it away with 'evidence' tape still clinging to the doors. That single tableau has helped turn the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie into something uglier than a mystery: a social-media trial conducted in real time.

The essential facts are these, and they are stubbornly thin: Nancy Guthrie vanished from her Tucson home on 1 February 2026, and investigators say they believe she was abducted in the night by a masked, armed person caught on surveillance footage appearing to tamper with her doorbell camera. Nearly three weeks on, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told NBC News the department had no names it was 'looking into'—even as he insisted the work itself was 'still growing.'

The Case Facts, Not The Fever Dream

The Pima County Sheriff's Department is the local agency leading the investigation in and around Tucson, while the FBI—America's federal law-enforcement body—is assisting as the inquiry widens. The sheriff's office has asked residents within a two-mile radius of Guthrie's Catalina Foothills home to share any footage they captured from 1 January 2026 to 2 February 2026 that looks 'out of the ordinary or important.'

Nanos' public frustration has been plain, even as he's urged patience. 'It's never fast enough for the sheriff,' he said, adding, 'I want it like you: 'Come on, guys, let's go, let's go, let's find her.' But the reality is that I also know that sometimes things take time.'​

That gap—between what the authorities can say and what the public desperately wants to hear—is where the internet barges in, muddy boots and all. The Range Rover scene became a kind of Rorschach test, with strangers treating a vehicle model and a blurry clip as if they were sworn testimony.​

How Zack Jaghoub Got Dragged In

The name that has ricocheted hardest across platforms is Zaidoun 'Zack' Jaghoub, 40, a man who says he has been living in Jordan and has not lived in the United States since 2019. Jaghoub worked at MG Motors in Tucson, according to his account, and says the dealership is owned by friends.​

Online sleuthing latched onto a chain of 'maybes' that would be laughable if the consequences weren't so predictable. Photos and videos of the Range Rover led users to notice a license plate cover from MG Motors, which prompted them to dig through the dealership's Instagram posts—including a September 2025 photo of a Range Rover, where they found Jaghoub among the likes. From there, the leap became a sprint: some users pushed side-by-side images, claiming Jaghoub resembled the masked figure seen at Guthrie's home, even though law enforcement has not identified him as a suspect.​

Jaghoub, for his part, says the pile-on has been relentless. Speaking to Parade in an interview published 21 February 2026, he described waking up to sudden attention and aggressive messages: 'I know one thing, I slept on Friday, I woke up on Saturday. I found myself [with] thousands of people following me on Instagram, adding me on Facebook, they're adding me on Snapchat for no reason. People sending me messages [saying] 'you are guilty. You are this, you are dead,' he said.​

Forensic Timeline

Federal agents and Pima County deputies have reconstructed the final known movements at the Guthrie residence using a combination of Ring doorbell footage, private CCTV, and digital footprint analysis.

The following timeline represents the critical window of the disappearance.

The Pre-Abduction Phase: Surveillance

Date: 1 January – 31 January 2026: Detectives believe the property was under intermittent surveillance. Neighbours reported seeing a dark SUV—matching the description of the Range Rover later seized—idling in the area on at least three occasions during this period.

02.14am: The Security Breach

The masked subject entered the property via the front perimeter. Motion sensors on the driveway were bypassed or failed to trigger.

The subject approached the front door directly. Surveillance footage shows the individual reaching for the doorbell camera.

02.16am: The 'Safe But Scared' Message

Within minutes of the subject's arrival, a digital communication was initiated. While the exact device used is under forensic review, this coincides with the timestamp of the first extortion message received by the family.

The subject was filmed using a handheld tool to disable the lens. The feed cut to black at 02.17am.

03.45am: Vehicle Movement

A local ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) camera on a nearby thoroughfare captured a grey SUV leaving the Catalina Foothills area.

The vehicle was travelling at high speed toward the city centre. Investigators are currently cross-referencing this timestamp with the GPS data recovered from the vehicle seized at the Culver's car park.

Current Investigative Focus

The Pima County Sheriff's Department is currently focusing on three key areas of the timeline:

• The 90-minute Gap: What occurred inside the residence between the camera being disabled and the vehicle departing.
• The Doorbell Tool: Identifying the specific hardware used to jam the signal, which may lead to a point of purchase.
• The Extortion Origin: Tracing the IP address of the 'safe but scared' message, which federal agents allege was routed through a VPN in the Middle East.

The Search For 'Masked Man' Continues

Sheriff Nanos maintains that the investigation is 'moving at pace' despite the lack of a named suspect.

The reality on the ground remains stubbornly thin on facts. The gap between verified police work and digital speculation is widening by the hour.

For some, the Culver's car park represents a breakthrough. For the Guthrie family, it is another day of agony. Investigators say the search for Nancy Guthrie remains ongoing, while no suspect has been publicly named or charged.