A new photo released by the FBI of a person taken from Nancy Guthrie’s doorbell camera. Savannah Guthrie and Nancy Guthrie on the Today show set in 2015.
(Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: FBI via AP, Don Arnold/WireImage via Getty Images)
The desperate search for Nancy Guthrie has entered its third week, with investigators hoping for a break in a baffling case that they appear no closer to solving.
The FBI said in a statement on Sunday that gloves found about two miles from Guthrie’s home appeared to match the ones worn by the suspect in doorbell camera footage taken from Guthrie’s home on the morning she went missing. DNA recovered from the gloves was submitted for analysis, but no match was found in the bureau’s national DNA database, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department announced on Tuesday.
On Monday, the sheriff’s department said all members of the Guthrie family, including the missing 84-year-old’s adult children and their spouses, have been cleared as suspects.
“To suggest otherwise is not only wrong, it is cruel,” Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said in a statement. “The Guthrie family are victims plain and simple.”
Savannah Guthrie posted another video to Instagram late Sunday, pleading with her mother’s apparent abductor. “It is never too late to do the right thing,” she said.
Authorities — including SWAT and forensics teams — swarmed a home on the edge of the Catalina Foothills neighborhood north of Tucson, Ariz., near Guthrie’s home on Friday night as they carried out a federal court-ordered search warrant. Additionally, a person was questioned during a traffic stop. No arrests were made.
Nancy Guthrie was last seen at around 9:45 p.m. on Jan. 31, when she was dropped off at her home by family members following dinner, police said. She was reported missing around noon the next day after she did not show up at a friend’s house to watch an online church service.
Officials say they have received tens of thousands of tips since the investigation began. Anyone with information is encouraged to reach out to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department tip line at 520-351-4900 or the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Live74 updates
Mike Bebernes
Investigators turning to genealogy, partial DNA from Guthrie home after gloves return zero matches, sheriff says
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told NBC News on Tuesday afternoon that the failure to find a match for DNA found on gloves discovered near Nancy Guthrie’s house is “not the end” of their attempts to use genetic material to find the person responsible for her disappearance.
“Now we start with genealogy and some of the partial DNA we have at the home,” he told the network.
He added that he believes that some of the DNA collected at the home may belong to the suspect, but that investigators won’t know for sure until it’s been cross-referenced against available DNA databases.
Dylan Stableford
Investigators are still processing evidence from last week’s search warrants, police say
In an aerial view, FBI and SWAT units execute a search warrant approximately two miles from Nancy Guthrie’s residence on Feb. 13.
(Brandon Bell via Getty Images)
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said Tuesday that investigators are still processing evidence from two search warrants executed last week. Authorities searched a home near the edge of Nancy Guthrie’s Catalina Foothills neighborhood outside of Tucson, Ariz., on Friday night, and a residence in Rio Rico, Ariz., earlier in the week.
“The individuals who were questioned have been released, and no arrests have been made,” the sheriff’s department said. “As this investigation continues, you can expect to see similar activity.”
The department added that it “has not confirmed the number of leads investigators are actively pursuing.”
Dylan Stableford
Focus turns to Nancy Guthrie’s pacemaker and suspect’s backpack
As the search for Nancy Guthie entered its 17th day on Tuesday, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement that it is working with the manufacturer of the 84-year-old Guthrie’s pacemaker in an effort to “locate the device.” Police had said that Guthrie’s pacemaker stopped syncing with her Apple devices at approximately 2 a.m. the morning she was reported missing.
Separately, investigators are working with Walmart management to “identify and isolate” the individual who purchased the backpack seen in the doorbell camera footage released by the FBI, the sheriff’s department said. The FBI had identified the backpack as a black, 25-liter “Ozark Trail Hiker Pack,” which is sold exclusively by the retailer.
The sheriff’s department also said that investigators are “canvassing businesses and showing the doorbell video released by the FBI to determine whether the suspect appears familiar.”
Mike Bebernes
No match found for DNA from gloves discovered near Guthrie house, sheriff’s department says
Genetic material gathered from gloves that were found roughly two miles away from Nancy Guthrie’s house did not match anything in the FBI’s DNA database, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said Tuesday.
Other sources of DNA material are still being processed, the department said.
Mike Bebernes
Milwaukee attorney offers up $100,000 as an alternative to the FBI’s reward
Michael Hupy, an attorney and the president of the Milwaukee chapter of the nonprofit Crime Stoppers, has offered up a $100,000 reward for information leading to Nancy Guthrie’s location.
In an interview with a local news station, Hupy argued that the FBI’s system for providing tips surrounding the case — which requires people to submit personal information like their name, email address and phone number — could be preventing someone from sharing crucial details with law enforcement.
“This woman has been missing for two or three weeks. And no leads have amounted to anything,” he told Fox 6 in Milwaukee. “So if the person who knows who the perpetrator is doesn’t want his name exposed, wants a reward and has information that will lead to an arrest — Crime Stoppers is the perfect place to do it.”
Crime Stoppers is a community program that allows people to anonymously report information about criminal activity without potentially putting themselves at risk of punishment. Hupy said that the $100,000 reward would be paid out through the Tucson Crime Stoppers chapter.
Dylan Stableford
What happened in the investigation over the long weekend
A Pima County officer is seen outside of Nancy Guthrie‘s home on Saturday, Feb. 14.
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
There were a few developments in the search for Nancy Guthrie over Presidents’ Day weekend. Here’s a quick recap:
Friday night: Authorities swarmed a home on the edge of Nancy Guthrie’s Catalina Foothills neighborhood north of Tucson, Ariz., as they carried out a search warrant. Additionally, a person was questioned during a traffic stop. No arrests were made.
Sunday: The FBI said in a statement that gloves found about two miles from Guthrie’s home appeared to match the ones worn by the suspect in the doorbell camera footage. The DNA from an unknown male was lifted from one of the recovered gloves, the statement said, and will be entered into the bureau’s national database.
Sunday night: Savannah Guthrie posted another video to Instagram, pleading with her mother’s apparent abductor. “It is never too late to do the right thing,” she said.
Monday: Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos released a statement saying that all members of the Guthrie family, including the missing 84-year-old’s adult children and their spouses, have been cleared as suspects. “To suggest otherwise is not only wrong, it is cruel,” Nanos said. “The Guthrie family are victims plain and simple.” The statement came amid ongoing speculation about Nancy Guthrie’s daughter, Annie Guthrie, and her son-in-law, who police said had dinner with her the night before she was reported missing.
Dylan Stableford
Sheriff explains why he released statement clearing Guthrie family as suspects
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos was asked by NBC News why he decided to release a statement on Monday clearing Nancy Guthrie’s family, including her children and their spouses, as suspects in the case.
“Because sometimes we forget we’re human and we hurt, and kindness matters,” Nanos said. “It is every cop’s duty to stand up and be that voice for our victims. I’m not going to sit in silence when others are attacking the innocent. Isn’t that what the badge represents?”
Mike Bebernes
All members of the Guthrie family have been cleared as suspects, sheriff’s department says
No one in Nancy Guthrie’s family is being considered a potential suspect in her disappearance, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department wrote in a statement Monday afternoon.
“The family has been nothing but cooperative and gracious and are victims in this case,” the department wrote.
In the days following Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance, there had been ample online speculation surrounding her immediate family, with specific rumors centering around her son-in-law. Monday’s statement makes clear that he and all other members of the family are not suspected of being involved.
Dylan Stableford
Trump threatens death penalty in Nancy Guthrie case if she isn’t returned alive
President Trump said that he would direct the Department of Justice to seek the “most severe” federal punishment against those responsible for Nancy Guthrie’s apparent abduction if she isn’t returned alive.
The president made the comments in a phone interview with the New York Post on Monday, more than two weeks after the 84-year-old mother of Today show cohost Savannah Guthrie was reported missing.
When asked if that meant the death penalty, Trump said, “The most, yeah — that’s true.”
Neia Balao
Savannah Guthrie posts new video: ‘It’s never too late to do the right thing.’
On Sunday, Savannah Guthrie posted a video on Instagram urging for her mother’s safe return.
“It’s been two weeks since our mom was taken, and I just wanted to come on and say that we still have hope and we still believe,” Guthrie said. “And I wanted to say to whoever has her or knows where she is that it’s never too late, and you’re not lost or alone. It’s never too late to do the right thing.”
Guthrie added, “We are here, and we believe. We believe in the essential goodness of every human being.”
