Update on Nancy Guthrie’s Disappearance
TUCSON, Ariz. — Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, who is overseeing the investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s purported kidnapping, shared with Fox News Digital on Friday that the task force involved is seeing progress nearly 100 days after her vanishing from her Catalina Foothills residence.
When asked if they were nearing a breakthrough, Nanos responded, “We’re getting closer to a solution.” He remarked that this development is “really great” as he got into his white Corvette, though he did not provide further details.
Background on Guthrie’s Disappearance
Nancy Guthrie, 84, is the mother of Savannah Guthrie, a co-host on the Today show. Recently, discussions arose regarding a car observed on a Ring camera, though authorities have not yet identified it.
In late April, a private forensic lab in Florida forwarded hair samples to the FBI for deeper analysis. Experts noted that if this hair doesn’t match anyone known to have been in Guthrie’s home, it might still serve useful in genetic genealogy investigations, allowing a team of county detectives and FBI agents to pursue potential suspects.
Relatives and household staff have already volunteered DNA samples, and should there be no matches, this hair could lead investigators to the abductors.
In comments on the speed of constructing DNA profiles, Dr. David Mittelman, a co-founder of Osram, explained that while generating profiles from hair doesn’t necessarily take long, high-quality, complete profiles are vital for effective genetic genealogy. Issues with incomplete profiles could hinder identifying family relationships that might assist in discovering a suspect.
According to Sheriff Nanos, there’s a belief that Guthrie was taken from her home around 2:30 a.m. on February 1. Deputies were called around noon that same day by her daughter and son-in-law, who reported her missing.
The FBI has been collaborating with Google to retrieve footage from Guthrie’s Google Nest doorbell camera, capturing a masked individual with a firearm at her front door around the time of the incident.
Describing the situation, former FBI profiler Jim Clemente suggested that the suspect may have made mistakes that could assist law enforcement, provided no one from their close circle tips them off first.
A reward of over $1.2 million has been announced for information leading to the resolution of the case. The Guthrie family urges anyone with tips to contact 1-800-CALL-FBI, or to remain anonymous, reach out to Tucson’s 88-Crime tip line at 520-882-7463.
