Sheriff reveals mystery DNA found at Nancy Guthrie’s home doesn’t belong to anyone ‘close’ to her
It’s been nearly two weeks since the 84-year-old vanished from her Arizona home in what police believe is a kidnapping
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department has revealed DNA that doesn’t belong to anyone in “close contact” with Nancy Guthrie was found at the missing 84-year-old’s home.
It’s suspected that Nancy, the mother of Today show star Savannah Guthrie, was taken from her Arizona home as she slept nearly two weeks ago.
Police are yet to find Nancy or her alleged adductor but have been releasing new information about the case as the days go on.
In a statement shared with The Independent Friday, the sheriff’s department said, “DNA other than Nancy Guthrie’s and those in close contact to her has been collected from the property.”
Nancy lives in the affluent and secluded Catalina Foothills just outside of Tucson.
The sheriff’s department said investigators are working to identify whose DNA was discovered. Police are not currently disclosing where exactly on the property the DNA was found.
In its statement the sheriff’s department also refuted any reports that a glove was found inside Nancy’s home or on her property.
“Several gloves have been located during the investigation. The closest gloves were found approximately two miles from the home,” the department said.
Early this week, authorities shared photos and video of a suspect in Nancy’s disappearance, taken from a doorbell camera at the front of her house on the morning police believe she may have been taken.
The FBI Phoenix Field Office announced Tuesday that the “previously inaccessible” video shows “an armed individual appearing to have tampered with the camera at Nancy Guthrie's front door the morning of her disappearance.”
The suspect, who is yet to be identified, was wearing a ski mask and gloves. It’s unclear whether the gloves the suspect was wearing in the video match the gloves authorities found.
On Thursday, the FBI increased its reward to $100,000 for information “leading to the location of Nancy Guthrie and/or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance.”
The FBI has also shared a detailed description of the suspect, including the type of backpack he was wearing in the doorbell video.
“The suspect is described as a male, approximately 5’9” - 5’10” tall, with an average build. In the video, he is wearing a black, 25-liter ‘Ozark Trail Hiker Pack’ backpack,” the agency wrote on X.
On Thursday, Reuters reported, citing a law enforcement official with knowledge of Nancy’s case, that Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos was blocking the FBI from examining evidence.
The official claimed the FBI requested DNA and a glove to be processed at the agency's national crime lab in Virginia, but Nanos insisted on using a private Florida lab.
Nanos refuted the idea that he wouldn’t collaborate with the FBI, telling CNN’s Ed Lavandera his department and the bureau are “joined at the hip.”
“We want to find Nancy,” the sheriff added.
Savannah and her siblings are desperate to find their beloved mother, offering to pay for Nancy’s safe return.
There have been reports of ransom notes demanding millions of dollars in Bitcoin, but none have been verified by police.
In an Instagram video posted last Saturday, Savannah said while sitting next to her brother Camron and sister Annie, “We received your message, and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us, so that we can celebrate with her.
“This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”
Earlier this week, the sheriff’s department said a person was detained in connection with Nancy’s disappearance.
A man named Carlos told local outlet ABC15 he was stopped by deputies for “kidnapping” Nancy.
“They told me I was being detained for kidnapping, and I asked them, ‘Kidnapping of who?’” Carlos said. He was later released without being charged with a crime, according to the outlet.
As the investigation into Nancy’s suspected kidnapping continues, Nanos holds out hope that she will be found.
“I believe she’ll be found,” the sheriff told Lavandera.
“We are working hard.”
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