A Tucson murder suspect whom online sleuths had compared to the unidentified "Porch Guy" from Nancy Guthrie's doorbell footage has been taken into custody, though authorities have not linked him to Guthrie's disappearance.
The Pima County Sheriff's Department arrested 33-year-old Alex James Barnett on Monday, Aug. 24, following a three-hour standoff at a Tucson apartment complex. According to the Arizona Daily Star, Barnett surrendered peacefully after the Pima Regional SWAT team surrounded the building. He had been wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of Tucson Police Cadet Carlos Ramirez, a 23-year-old former corrections officer killed in an apparent home invasion on Aug. 19, just days before he was set to graduate from the police academy.
A second suspect, 39-year-old Santiago Jorge Rogers, was arrested Saturday, Aug. 22, at a Tucson hotel with assistance from the FBI. He's being held on suspicion of first-degree murder, armed robbery, and aggravated assault. A third suspect connected to the case has been located but not arrested.
After the Sheriff's Department released Barnett's photo publicly seeking help locating him, social media users quickly began drawing comparisons between his appearance and the masked figure caught on Guthrie's doorbell camera the night she disappeared, citing similarities in build, gait, and tattoos.
However, the Pima County Sheriff's Department has been clear: there is no confirmed connection between Barnett, Rogers, or the Ramirez murder investigation and Guthrie's case. Officials continue to treat the two as entirely separate investigations.
Guthrie, 84, the mother of "Today" co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, was reported missing on Feb. 1 after failing to appear for a Sunday church livestream she never missed. Her case remains unsolved more than seven months later, with a combined reward exceeding $1.2 million still active. Anyone with information is urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or Tucson's 88-CRIME tip line.
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