The investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie, has produced a significant update after authorities identified the source of DNA found on a glove discovered near her home in Tucson, Arizona.
The glove had initially drawn attention after it was found roughly two miles from Guthrie’s residence and appeared similar to gloves worn by a masked individual seen on surveillance footage outside her front porch.
According to local outlet KVOA, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos confirmed that investigators were able to trace the DNA from one of the gloves to an individual who works at a restaurant located across the street from Guthrie’s home.
Authorities say the DNA match does not connect the restaurant worker to the disappearance.
“There was some talk and discussion that it was police officers out in the field just discarding [the gloves], that is so far from the truth,” Nanos said in comments reported by KVOA.
“We knew that at that time, we believed wholeheartedly that those gloves belonged to a restaurant and guess what? The owner of the glove, we found working at a restaurant across the street,” he added.
Nanos emphasized that the discovery “has nothing to do with the case.”
The sheriff also noted that other gloves collected during the investigation are still being examined, explaining that the presence of mixed DNA samples is complicating the testing process.
“It’s a challenge because we know we have DNA, but now we have to deal with that mixture and how we’re going to separate it,” he said.
Disappearance sparked major investigation
Nancy Guthrie was reported missing after she vanished from her Tucson home during the early hours of Feb. 1.
Authorities say her family contacted emergency services at 12:03 p.m. that day when the mother of three failed to attend a virtual church service she had planned to watch with friends.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Office, working alongside the FBI, launched a large-scale investigation and said early evidence suggested Guthrie had been taken against her will.
Investigators later revealed that blood spatter found on the front porch of the home was confirmed to belong to Guthrie.
Additional evidence released by authorities included Nest camera footage showing a masked man carrying a backpack standing on the porch during the early morning hours of Feb. 1.
The FBI’s Phoenix office described the suspect as a man approximately 5 feet 9 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall with an average build who was seen carrying a black 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack that may have been purchased at Walmart.
Authorities also said the home’s doorbell camera was disconnected at 1:47 a.m., and at 2:12 a.m. the system captured a dark figure approaching the house. Sixteen minutes later, Guthrie’s pacemaker disconnected from the monitoring app on her cellphone.
Despite extensive investigative efforts by local authorities and the FBI, Nancy Guthrie has not been found.
New footage and growing pressure on investigators
Weeks after the disappearance, additional footage emerged from a couple living on a back road about 2.5 miles from Guthrie’s home.
According to video obtained by Fox News, a vehicle was captured speeding along the road at approximately 2:36 a.m. on Feb. 1 — about eight minutes after Guthrie’s pacemaker last synced with her iPhone, based on the sheriff’s timeline.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Office told Fox News and NBC News that investigators were aware of the footage but did not confirm whether it would aid the case.
As the search surpassed one month, Sheriff Nanos acknowledged that the investigation had generated numerous tips and pieces of information.
“I think the investigators are definitely closer,” he said in an interview with NBC. “We got a lot of intel, a lot of leads, but now it’s time to just go to work.”
Meanwhile, Guthrie’s family has intensified efforts to bring attention to the case.
Savannah Guthrie announced on Feb. 24 that the family is offering a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to Nancy Guthrie’s recovery. The family has also pledged a $500,000 donation to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The FBI is separately offering a $100,000 reward for information connected to the case, which remains active as investigators continue searching for answers.
