Nancy Guthrie Case Suffers Major Setback as Glove DNA Yields No Match in CODIS
Savannah Guthrie said she believes in the goodness of people and urged those responsible to release her mother.
The Guthrie family continues to receive no respite in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, who was abducted from her Arizona home on February 1. In the latest development, authorities said a glove recovered from near the scene has yielded no DNA matches, according to an update from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.
The glove was discovered about two miles away from the Guthrie home and appeared to match one worn by a suspect in surveillance footage obtained from the night the 84-year-old disappeared.
The DNA obtained from the glove was sent for testing on February 12, but produced no matches in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). Even so, the Sheriff's Department remains optimistic that the DNA will be useful in the investigation, the BBC reported.
DNA obtained from the glove was sent for testing on February 12, but produced no matches.
Mystery Behind The Glove
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said on February 15 that a glove containing DNA was found about two miles from Guthrie’s Tucson residence.
The glove was one of about 16 gloves collected by investigators in several places near Guthrie’s ranch-style home. The FBI confirmed that most of those gloves belonged to searchers who discarded them while investigating the area.
The FBI released a description of the person who investigators identified as a suspect. The man had an average build and an approximate height of 5 feet 9 inches or 5 feet 10 inches. Authorities said he was wearing a black 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack in the surveillance video.
Authorities are coordinating with Walmart to determine who purchased the backpack seen in the video.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told BBC he believes Guthrie is being held somewhere close to her home and that he is confident authorities will find her even if it takes “ten days, ten months, or worse”.
However, concerns about the veteran’s health persist, as Guthrie requires “daily medication” and is not believed to be in good physical condition.
Detectives have received close to 40,000 tips from the public, Nanos said on February 17. He said authorities are analyzing other DNA samples recovered from the scene.
Guthrie Family Not Suspects
Police confirmed that members of the Guthrie family, including Savannah, Annie, and Camron Guthrie, along with their spouses, are not being treated as suspects but are instead considered “victims.”
Guthrie’s children have shared several videos on social media pleading for her safe return, stating that they are willing to pay to ensure their mother’s release.
Today co-host Savannah shared another video on Instagram on February 16. “It’s been two weeks since our mom was taken, and I wanted to say that we still have hope and we still believe,” she shared.
Savannah Guthrie in her new plea video told abductors that it is never too late to do the next right thing.
“I also wanted to say to whoever has her or knows where she is that it’s never too late, and you are not lost or alone. It is never too late to do the right thing. We believe in the essential goodness of every human being.”
Nancy Guthrie was reported missing after she failed to attend a church service with her friends and did not respond to phone calls. When police went to her home, they discovered drops of blood on the porch.
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