Savannah Guthrie renewed her public plea to find her missing mother as the FBI said DNA recovered from a glove near the 84-year-old’s Tucson-area home could produce a crucial lead as early as today.
Guthrie, co-anchor of NBC News’ Today, said her family “still have hope” more than two weeks after Nancy Guthrie vanished. “To whoever has her, or knows where she is, it’s never too late,” she said in a video message posted online. “We are here, and we believe in the essential goodness of every human being. And it’s never too late to do the right thing.”
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Nancy Guthrie was last seen Jan. 31, when relatives dropped her off at her home after dinner. She was reported missing the following day. Investigators quickly concluded she could not have left unassisted, citing her limited mobility and need for daily medication, and said she was taken against her will.
The FBI said a glove collected about 2 miles from her residence appears to match the pair worn by a masked man captured on a doorbell camera as he tried to disable the device in the early morning hours shortly before Nancy Guthrie disappeared. In the footage, the man wore a ski mask, a holstered gun and an overstuffed backpack, authorities said.
Preliminary DNA results from a private Florida lab reached the FBI on Saturday and are moving through “quality control and official confirmation” before comparison against the national database, the agency said. Running a specimen through CODIS — the Combined DNA Index System — typically takes 24 hours once the FBI has the sample. A database “hit” could come as soon as today, according to the bureau.
The glove submitted for testing is one of roughly 16 recovered in recent days from a roadside field near Guthrie’s neighborhood. Most were dropped by searchers, investigators said, but the one in testing “is different” and appears consistent with the suspect’s gloves in the video.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has identified the masked man as the primary suspect in the case. “There’s not been any proof of death either,” he told Reuters on Friday, noting there has been no proof of life since the abduction.
Authorities have also confirmed that blood found on the front porch of Nancy Guthrie’s home matches her DNA. Additional DNA not belonging to Guthrie or her relatives was collected from her property; no laboratory findings from those samples have been released.
At least two purported ransom notes surfaced after her disappearance, both initially delivered to news organizations. Investigators say there has been no direct contact between any presumed captors and Guthrie’s family or law enforcement. In one family video appeal, relatives expressed willingness to meet ransom demands.
On Friday night, sheriff’s deputies and FBI agents executed a federal court-ordered search of a home in an affluent area less than 2 miles from Guthrie’s house, authorities said. No arrests or charges have been announced.
The FBI has released the doorbell footage of the masked man and urged the public to review it for any identifying clues. Law enforcement and family members describe Nancy Guthrie as in frail health and reliant on medication and a pacemaker.
“It’s never too late,” Savannah Guthrie said in her latest message. “We still have hope.”
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
