Authorities in southern Arizona confirmed that a backpack

matching the previously identified Ozark Trail Hiker Pack

model was recovered earlier today in a remote stretch near Rio Rico.

The discovery came shortly after investigators publicly

acknowledged reviewing surveillance footage believed

to show a masked individual

in connection with the ongoing Nancy Guthrie case.

Law enforcement has not formally named a suspect,

but officials describe the recovery as a “rapid development” tied to recent media exposure.

According to sources familiar with the scene,

officers were dispatched after a passerby reported spotting

a dark backpack partially concealed near brush off a lightly traveled road.

Deputies secured the area and photographed the item before opening it under controlled conditions.

Inside, investigators reportedly located a mobile phone and a handwritten document.