Summary
The FBI said it has recovered forensic evidence that links a glove found near Nancy Guthrie’s home to a glove worn by a masked person captured on surveillance outside her front door the night she vanished. In a statement Sunday, the agency said DNA recovered from the glove—found in a field about two miles from Guthrie’s residence—appears to match the glove worn by a masked suspect in the Tucson video.
The FBI said it received preliminary DNA results Saturday and was awaiting official confirmation. The development surfaced as law enforcement continued to gather potential evidence in the search for Guthrie, who was last seen at her Arizona home on Jan. 31 and reported missing the next day, and as authorities said the case was entering its third week.
On Sunday night, Savannah Guthrie, the “Today” show host, posted an Instagram video appealing to whoever abducted her mother or anyone who knew where she was being held. In the video, Guthrie said, “It is never too late to do the right thing,” and added that “we are here” and “we believe in the essential goodness of every human being, that it’s never too late.”
Authorities said Nancy Guthrie, 84, had blood found on the front porch. Investigators also said purported ransom notes were sent to news outlets and that two deadlines for paying have passed, leaving investigators to continue looking for leads while the search continues.
Investigators revealed the glove DNA development days after law enforcement released surveillance videos showing the masked person near Guthrie’s front door. The porch camera footage, authorities said, recorded a person wearing a ski mask, long pants, a jacket and gloves, and carrying a backpack.
The AP reported that investigators called the person a suspect on Thursday and described him as a man about 5 feet, 9 inches tall with a medium build, carrying a 25-liter “Ozark Trail Hiker Pack” backpack. Later, late Friday night, investigators sealed off a road about two miles from Guthrie’s home as part of the inquiry and moved multiple types of vehicles through the area, including forensics vehicles.
Law enforcement also tagged and towed a Range Rover SUV from a nearby restaurant parking lot late Friday, according to the report. The sheriff’s department later said the activity was part of the Guthrie investigation, and said no arrests were made.
On Tuesday, sheriff deputies detained a person for questioning during a traffic stop south of Tucson and later confirmed the person was released. That same day, deputies and FBI agents conducted a court-authorized search in Rio Rico, about an hour’s drive south of Tucson.
Authorities have said they are concerned about Guthrie’s health because she needs vital daily medicine. The report cited sheriff’s dispatcher audio saying Guthrie has a pacemaker and has dealt with high blood pressure and heart issues.
Earlier in the investigation, authorities also said they collected DNA from Guthrie’s property that does not belong to Guthrie or people in close contact with her, while working to determine whose DNA it was. The FBI has also said approximately 16 gloves were found in various spots near Guthrie’s home, most of which were described as searchers’ gloves that had been discarded.