Developing: DNA Results Yield No Immediate Break in Nancy Guthrie Investigation
Federal investigators have hit a setback in the search for 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, as newly analyzed DNA evidence failed to produce a match in the national criminal database.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that DNA recovered from a glove discovered roughly two miles from Guthrie’s Tucson, Arizona residence did not correspond to any profiles in the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). Guthrie, the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, was taken from her home in the early hours of Feb. 1.
According to NBC News, the genetic material was formally processed and compared against CODIS on Tuesday.
“There were no DNA hits in CODIS,” the sheriff’s department said. “At this point, there have been no confirmed CODIS matches in this investigation.”
Authorities further clarified that the DNA recovered from the glove “did not match DNA found at the property.”
“DNA found at the property is being analyzed & further testing needs to be done as part of the investigation,” the department said.
While the lack of a match may appear discouraging, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos signaled that investigators are far from finished. In fact, he emphasized that more promising leads may lie closer to the scene itself.
“that’s not the end.”
“Now we start with genealogy and some of the partial DNA we have at the home,” Nanos said.
“To me, that’s more critical than any glove I found two miles away. I’m not dismissing the glove two miles away, but I have gloves five miles away, 10 miles away, so we prioritize.”
Nanos declined to specify precisely where within the residence the DNA samples were located, but he made clear that investigators believe they may possess genetic material belonging to a suspect.
“We believe that we may have some DNA there that may be our suspect, but we won’t know that until that DNA is separated, sorted out, maybe admitted to CODIS, maybe through genealogy,” Nanos said.
In an era when forensic genealogy has increasingly helped law enforcement solve cold cases and identify elusive suspects, authorities appear prepared to use every lawful investigative tool available.
Sheriff Nanos also pushed back strongly against speculation surrounding Guthrie’s fate, insisting there is no confirmation of the worst-case scenario.
“They ask me, do I have proof of life? I ask them, is there proof of death?” he said Tuesday, according to the New York Post.
“I’m going to have that faith, and sometimes that faith, that hope, is all we have… My team, 400 people out there in the field today, woke up this morning and went out there with the hope and the belief that they’re going to find Nancy.
“We’re going to continue working this case, every minute of every day, and we will find her.”
In a direct message to whoever may be responsible, Nanos issued a stern warning and a final appeal.
“And we will find you … to the individual doing this, let her go, just let her go. It will work out better for you in the long run, trust me,” he said.
As the investigation continues, law enforcement officials remain committed to pursuing justice with patience, persistence, and the full force of forensic science.