FBI Analyzing DNA Found at Nancy Guthrie’s Home that’s Possibly Critical to Abduction Probe: Report
The 84-year-old mother of “Today” host Savannah Guthrie is believed to have been taken against her will from her Tucson, Ariz., home in the early morning hours of Feb. 1
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is analyzing DNA evidence collected from a residence connected to Nancy Guthrie in Arizona. Investigators believe the findings could be important to an ongoing case.
Now using more advanced technology to analyze the DNA evidence, federal investigators received the sample in recent days from a private Florida lab that works with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, sources familiar with the investigation told ABC News in a report published on Thursday, April 16. The analysis is reportedly aimed at identifying a suspect in Nancy’s kidnapping.
The 84-year-old mother of Today host Savannah Guthrie is believed to have been taken against her will from her Tucson, Ariz., home in the early morning hours of Feb. 1. She has not been seen since being dropped off by family the night before.
Local and federal authorities have pointed to surveillance footage that appears to show a masked, armed person tampering with her doorbell camera that morning.
After confirming that blood found on the exterior porch matches Nancy’s DNA, investigators have also been examining a “mixed” DNA sample recovered from her home, authorities have said.
A mixed sample contains genetic material from more than one person, making it more difficult to isolate an individual profile, CeCe Moore, chief genetic genealogist at Parabon NanoLabs, previously told PEOPLE.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said investigators remain hopeful the mixed DNA evidence will eventually lead them to “somebody,” but acknowledged it has complicated the search for Nancy.
“We listen to our lab, and our lab tells us that there’s challenges with it,” Nanos told NBC News in February, noting results could take “weeks, months or maybe a year.”
Moore has said that the more unknown contributors in a DNA sample, the harder it becomes to separate one person’s profile from the rest.
A spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department has also said investigators are exploring whether the suspect may have had an accomplice.
Last month, Savannah opened up about the ordeal in her first interview since Nancy disappeared, telling longtime colleague Hoda Kotb that “someone needs to do the right thing.”
“We are in agony,” she said of how her family has been feeling. “It is unbearable.”
She returned to Today’s anchor desk days later on April 6 as the search reached its 10th week.
Amid her mother’s disappearance, Savannah had made several Instagram posts pleading for her mother’s safe return and thanked her followers for their prayers.
A $100,000 reward has been offered by the FBI for any information leading to Nancy’s recovery or an arrest in the case. Savannah and her family have since offered an increased $1 million reward and donated $500,000 to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
