The Federal Bureau of Investigation has received DNA evidence recovered from the Tucson, Arizona, home of Nancy Guthrie, including test results from a hair sample, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
A source told Fox News that investigators collected DNA material from the residence and submitted it to the FBI for further analysis, including more advanced testing. CeCe Moore, an investigative genetic genealogist with Parabon NanoLabs, said a hair sample is unlikely to be part of a mixed DNA profile that investigators have reportedly been analyzing, the outlet reported.
“Not after it is cleaned for contamination,” she said. “They have that process in good shape, but it can take some time.” She added of the sample: “I would assume it would be Nancy plus two or more unknowns.”
A spokesman for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department told Fox the police agency has “shared a lot of things” with the FBI lab regarding Guthrie’s case.
“PCSD has worked with the FBI since the beginning of the Guthrie investigation. This is not new information,” the department wrote on X. “The private lab we utilize in Florida continues to share information with the FBI lab & other partner labs across the country. DNA analysis remains ongoing.”
Sheriff Chris Nanos has said that DNA recovered from the scene has not yet identified a suspect in the Feb. 1 kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie.
Earlier in the investigation, the sheriff’s department submitted a sample to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for comparison against its Combined DNA Index System. That search did not produce a match, and authorities later ruled out any connection based on that sample. Investigators also identified a separate mixed, partial DNA sample that was not strong enough to generate a profile suitable for CODIS.
More than 11 weeks after the disappearance, officials say it remains unclear what additional information the available DNA evidence may yield. Experts have indicated that the sample appears to be a complex mixture, likely containing genetic material from three or more individuals.
Authorities have said that at least one contributor to the DNA evidence is male, adding that other forensic testing has already been completed.
For example, blood found on the front porch was confirmed to belong to Nancy Guthrie. Investigators also examined a glove recovered about two miles from her home, which they said resembled one worn by a masked individual captured on a Nest doorbell camera.
The glove did not yield a match. Testing through the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System produced no hits, and the sample did not match any other DNA collected from inside the home.
Investigators and the Guthrie family have made multiple appeals to the public for assistance. There is a total reward of over $1.2 million related to the case, including $1 million offered by the Guthrie family for information leading to their mother’s recovery. The family urges anyone with information to call 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Savannah Guthrie expressed that her family is in “agony” following their mother’s disappearance during a Today show interview a month ago.
“Someone needs to do the right thing. We are in agony, we are in agony,” a tearful Guthrie told co-host Hoda Kotb. Savannah described the situation that she and her family are enduring as “unbearable.”
“And to think of what she went through. I wake up every night in the middle of the night, every night,” she told Kotb. “And in the darkness, I imagine her terror. And it is unthinkable, but those thoughts demand to be thought. And I will not hide my face. But she needs to come home now.”
Savannah has since returned to the show full-time.