The search for Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “TODAY” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, has surpassed the three-week mark, and authorities have not yet identified a suspect. Guthrie was last seen around 9:45 p.m. on Jan. 31 after she was dropped at her home following dinner with her family. A friend alerted her family on Feb. 1 when she did not show up at the friend’s house for a planned visit to watch a livestream of a church service.
In the latest development, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told NBC News’ Liz Kruetz in an interview that aired on “TODAY” Monday, Feb. 23 that he believes investigators are getting closer to identifying more items of clothing worn by a man who was seen wearing a balaclava, gloves and a holstered weapon on the doorbell camera at Guthrie’s home the morning she disappeared.
Here’s the latest on the investigation.
Police Closer to Identifying More Clothing Worn By Suspect
GettyNancy Guthrie’s alleged kidnapper is seen on FBI Director Kash Patel’s X account on a cellular phone February 10, 2026 in Tucson, Arizona.
After the FBI released footage of the man captured on Nancy Guthrie’s doorbell camera, NBC News learned the backpack he wears in the footage is sold exclusively at Walmart.
Nanos told NBC News on Feb. 22 that investigators are getting closer to identifying the shoes, pants, shirt and jacket worn by the man captured on the doorbell camera.
The masked suspect can also be seen wearing a gun holster in an unusual position between his legs in the video.
Nanos told Kreutz on Feb. 19 that authorities have been showing a picture of the holster to local gun shop owners to see if anyone recognizes the suspect or remembers selling the holster. NBC News also spoke to one local gun shop owner who said the FBI visited him with a list of about two dozen pictures.
Challenges With Mixed DNA at Guthrie’s Home
Investigators have previously found mixed DNA at the scene of Nancy Guthrie’s home that did not match her DNA or a person in the FBI database.
“Our lab tells us that there’s challenges with it, and we understand those challenges, but our lab also knows that the technology is moving so fast and in such a frenzy that they think some of this stuff will resolve itself just in a matter of weeks, months or maybe a year,” Nanos told Kruetz on Feb. 23.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department told NBC News that “as with any biological evidence, there can be challenges separating DNA.”
Investigators Have Turned to Genetic Genealogy
Genetic genealogy combines DNA analysis and looking at genealogical records and publicly available databases to identify the suspect in the case.
CeCe Moore, chief genetic genealogist at Parabon, a lab specializing in forensic genetic genealogy, told NBC News on Feb. 20 that it could take anywhere from days to weeks for the DNA at the scene to be processed. However, she remains optimistic. “If I was the kidnapper, I would be extremely concerned right now,” Moore said. “Because using investigative genetic genealogy, he will be identified.”
According to “TODAY,” DNA analysis of a glove found two miles from Nancy Guthrie’s home in Tucson did not yield any hits in the FBI’s database either.
Suspect Could Have an Accomplice
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said it’s possible the man seen on the doorbell camera footage was not working alone.
“Investigators are not ruling out the possibility that more than one person may be involved,” the department said in a statement on Feb. 22.
“You saw the video I saw, is there more than one?” Nanos told Kreutz on TODAY on Feb. 23. “There could be, but that doesn’t mean there is.”
Backpack Found Not Related to the Case
GettyCatherine Lopez carries a backpack she found in a culvert, while joining other volunteers to search for any possible signs of Nancy Guthrie near her residence on February 22, 2026, in Tucson, Arizona.
Search teams were again canvassing Nancy Guthrie’s neighborhood over the weekend of Feb. 21-22, while a group of volunteers set out throughout the Catalina Foothills.
The volunteers found a backpack, but it’s not the brand the FBI said was worn by the suspect in the surveillance video.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department wrote on X on Feb. 21 urged volunteer groups to “give investigators the space they need to do their work.”

