DNA from glove yields no match in search for Nancy Guthrie as Arizona abduction probe enters 17th day
A promising DNA lead in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie failed to produce a match in a national database, delivering a setback to investigators as the search for the 84-year-old mother of NBC’s Savannah Guthrie reached its 17th day, authorities said.
- Advertisement -
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department, working with the FBI, said a DNA sample taken from a glove recovered last week did not return a “hit” in CODIS, the Combined DNA Index System, and did not match genetic material collected at Guthrie’s Tucson-area home.
The glove was found in a roadside field more than 3 kilometers (about 2 miles) from Guthrie’s house and resembled a pair worn by an armed man in a ski mask captured on video attempting to disable her doorbell camera shortly before she was abducted, officials said.
“At this point, there have been no confirmed CODIS matches in this investigation,” the sheriff’s office said, adding that additional DNA evidence from the residence remains under analysis. The department emphasized that CODIS is only one of several databases available to investigators.
Authorities have treated the case as an apparent kidnapping for ransom, drawing intense international interest and continuous media coverage. At least two purported ransom notes surfaced after Guthrie vanished, both initially delivered to news outlets, but there has been no known direct contact between suspects and the family or law enforcement.
Investigators have combined forensic work with traditional detective methods. The sheriff’s office said detectives collaborated with Walmart managers to identify who purchased a backpack seen in surveillance footage. A law enforcement official told Reuters that cross-referencing backpack and holster purchases and other data points produced a list of fewer than 20 potential customers shown to area gun stores.
Phillip Martin, co-owner of a Tucson gun shop, said an FBI agent visited more than a week ago with the list and asked whether any of the individuals had purchased a weapon there; none had, he said. Officials indicated those lists of potential persons of interest are being refined.
Authorities have also employed “signal sniffer” technology that can generate heat maps to guide searches. Parsons Corp, the system’s developer, said search teams in the case have used it from helicopters, ground vehicles and on foot.
Guthrie was last seen on Jan. 31 when family members dropped her off at her home near Tucson after dinner, according to authorities. Sheriff Nanos has said her physical limitations made it unlikely she left home unassisted, leading investigators to conclude early that she was taken against her will.
Blood traces found on Guthrie’s front porch were confirmed through DNA testing to be hers, officials said last week. Family members and law enforcement have described her as frail, reliant on daily medication and fitted with a pacemaker.
Savannah Guthrie, 54, co-anchor of NBC’s Today show, has joined her siblings, Camron and Annie, in posting video appeals for their mother’s safe return and for the public’s help. On Sunday, Sheriff Nanos said immediate family members — siblings and their spouses — have been ruled out as suspects, calling the Guthries “victims, plain and simple.”
No proof of life or death has emerged since the abduction, Nanos said last week, adding that investigators are operating on the presumption that Nancy Guthrie remains alive.
As forensic testing continues, detectives are pursuing tips, retracing purchases linked to surveillance imagery and reviewing technology-driven search data in a case that has gripped southern Arizona and beyond.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
