Nearly 100 days after Nancy Guthrie vanished from her Tucson home, her family finally has a reason to hope. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told Fox News Digital on Friday that the task force working the case is gaining ground.
Asked directly whether investigators are closer to solving the suspected abduction of the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie, Nanos did not hesitate.”We are,” he said.
He nodded, called the latest developments “really great” and stepped into his vehicle. He did not say more.
Hair Sample Sent to FBI as Key Evidence in Nancy Guthrie Case
While the sheriff keeps his cards close, the forensic work tells its own story.
Late last month, a private forensic lab in Florida forwarded a hair sample to the FBI for more advanced testing.
Per Fox News Digital, experts believe the sample could be a significant breakthrough.
The key question is whether the hair belongs to someone who had a legitimate reason to be inside Guthrie’s home.
Family members and workers connected to the property have already provided voluntary DNA samples. If the hair does not match any of them, it could lead investigators straight to a suspect.
Dr. David Mittelman, co-founder of Othram, a leading private forensics laboratory, walked through what happens next.
“Building DNA profiles from hair or other forensic evidence does not necessarily take long,” Mittelman said, per Fox News.
“In the ‘Idaho Four’ murders, for example, the DNA profile was developed within days. The challenge in forensic genetic genealogy is not simply generating a DNA profile, but generating a high-quality profile. Poor-quality or incomplete DNA profiles can make genetic genealogy difficult, ambiguous, or even impossible.”
The quality of what was recovered matters enormously. “If you don’t have a good profile, you may not see all the genetic relatives,” Mittelman said.
“It can be harder to resolve how people are related or not.”
What Investigators Know: A Masked Man, a Holstered Pistol, and a Pattern of Behavior
The timeline of that night has been carefully pieced together. Investigators believe Guthrie was taken from her Catalina Foothills home around 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 1.
Her daughter and son-in-law called 911 around noon that same day. Deputies arrived shortly after.
In the weeks that followed, the FBI worked with Google to pull Nest doorbell footage from the property. What they found was chilling.
A masked man of average height and build, carrying a holstered pistol, was captured on camera at Guthrie’s front steps around the time she vanished.
A man in nearly identical clothing had approached her door roughly three weeks before that. He has not been identified.
The Guthrie family and community supporters have put up a combined reward of more than $1.2 million for information leading to a resolution in the case.
Anyone wishing to remain anonymous can contact Tucson’s 88-Crime tip line at 520-882-7463.
The Guthrie family is urging anyone with information to call 1-800-CALL-FBI directly.
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