TUCSON, Arizona — Investigators have confirmed a DNA match from a glove discovered near the Arizona home of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of U.S. Television journalist Savannah Guthrie, to DNA belonging to the masked individual seen in doorbell camera footage prior to her abduction, the FBI announced Monday.
The preliminary DNA findings, received Saturday from a private crime laboratory in Florida, are undergoing final quality control and official confirmation before being submitted to the national DNA database for comparison, according to an FBI statement. A potential “hit” within 24 hours of the submission is anticipated, officials indicated.
The glove was one of approximately sixteen items collected by investigators in a field roughly two miles from Guthrie’s residence in Tucson. Most of the gloves recovered were determined to have been dropped by search personnel, but this particular glove “appears to match the gloves” worn by the suspect in the doorbell camera footage, the FBI stated. The footage shows a person in a ski mask attempting to disable Guthrie’s door camera in the early morning hours before her disappearance.
Hours after the FBI’s announcement, Savannah Guthrie posted a video message on social media expressing continued hope for her mother’s safe return. She urged anyone with information about her mother’s whereabouts to “do the right thing.”
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos stated Friday he believes the individual depicted in the video, wearing a gun holster and a large backpack, is the primary suspect in the case. Nancy Guthrie was last seen on January 31st, after a family dinner and was reported missing the following day. Authorities have noted that Guthrie had limited physical mobility and would have been unable to depart her home without assistance, leading investigators to believe she was abducted.
At least two purported ransom notes have been received by news media outlets since Guthrie’s disappearance, but authorities have reported no direct contact with her presumed captors. Blood droplets found on Guthrie’s front porch were confirmed through DNA analysis to be hers, officials said last week. Family and law enforcement have described Guthrie as being in frail health and requiring daily medication, including treatment related to a pacemaker.
Sheriff Nanos as well revealed Friday that DNA not belonging to Nancy Guthrie or her close contacts had been collected from her property, but no findings from those samples have been publicly released.
Savannah Guthrie, co-anchor of NBC’s Today present, along with her siblings Camron and Annie Guthrie, have made multiple public appeals for their mother’s return. They have expressed a willingness to meet ransom demands and, in a recent Instagram post, Savannah Guthrie stated, “We believe in the essential goodness of every human being, and it’s never too late.”
Acting on a federal court-ordered warrant, sheriff’s deputies and FBI agents searched a residence in an affluent neighborhood less than three kilometers from Guthrie’s home Friday night. A person was questioned during a related traffic stop that evening, but no arrests were made.
The case has garnered significant media attention and a statement of support from former President Donald Trump.
