A black glove discovered on a roadside close to Nancy Guthrie’s Arizona home could hold crucial DNA evidence, potentially leading to the identification of her kidnapper, according to a former FBI agent.
The glove, found on Wednesday in the Catalina Foothills—about 1.5 miles from the home of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother—could have “significant implications” for the investigation if it’s positively linked, said Michael Harrigan, who supervises the FBI’s National Academy.
“The key question is whether the glove was a nitrile one placed over another glove, or if it was in direct contact with skin,” Harrigan noted, after observing that it resembled the glove worn by the masked kidnapper on Nancy’s home surveillance footage.
“The possibility of skin cell DNA being transferred from the suspect to the glove hinges on whether it was in contact with skin or layered on top of another glove,” he explained.
“They’ll likely analyze skin cell DNA potentially found on the glove, which means sending it to a lab for testing,” he added.
If there’s no trace of Nancy’s DNA on the glove, it raises questions about whether it was simply left behind by a worker or someone else, Harrigan explained.
Authorities may expedite DNA testing of any individuals linked to the gloves that could tie into the investigation. “They’ll look into the person’s background, conduct interviews, and engage in the usual investigative methods,” he said.
Harrigan cautioned that finding gloves so distanced from the scene makes a connection improbable. Yet, he pointed out that if a kidnapping case is already 11 days old, every tidbit matters.
“The search extending 1.5 miles away shows the depth of the work being done behind the scenes,” he remarked. “Due to the nature of this case, there really are no boundaries for the investigation,” he remarked.
The authorities have yet to identify a suspect in Nancy’s kidnapping.
In what marked the first significant development in the case, the FBI released images on Tuesday of a man outfitted in black gloves and a ski mask, armed with a gun in a holster while manipulating a security camera.
Investigators briefly detained a person of interest for questioning on Tuesday night. However, he was soon released. The individual, identified as Carlos Palazuelos, a delivery driver from Rio Rico, about 90 miles from Tucson, asserted he had no involvement in Nancy Guthrie’s abduction.
