Family and Investigators Await Leads as Search for Nancy Guthrie Continues

Nancy Guthrie, 84, who lived in the Catalina Foothills outside Tucson, was last seen at her home Jan. 31 and has been missing since she was reported Feb. 1, investigators and family say. Authorities believe she was forcibly taken from the house and found drops of her blood on the front porch, and the FBI has released doorbell-camera footage as the probe moves into its second month.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told NBC’s Today show that investigators are gaining ground, saying, “I think that investigators are definitely closer. We’ve got a lot of intel, a lot of leads, but now it’s time to just go to work.” Despite that assessment, CBS News notes investigators have not publicly named a suspect or person of interest and several family members have been cleared.

The FBI released the doorbell video on Feb. 10, and retired FBI profiler Jim Clemente told NewsNation the person in the footage “made ‘big mistakes’.” Clemente added the subject “seemed fairly sophisticated” until the video showed errors, and he said the person “appeared to reveal a tattoo and that his failure to cover his mouth meant he likely left DNA evidence at the scene.”

Law enforcement has collected DNA from the Guthrie property that does not belong to Nancy or to those in close contact with her, CBS reports, and officials warn DNA analysis can be lengthy. Investigators are exploring investigative genetic genealogy and checking commercial DNA databases separate from CODIS to identify the source of the foreign DNA, according to CBS.

A pair of gloves recovered about 2 miles from the Guthrie home drew early attention. The FBI said the gloves appeared to match those worn by the masked person in surveillance footage and that the gloves’ DNA did not match entries in CODIS, per Yahoo reporting. CBS later reported the gloves were traced to a nearby restaurant worker who had no connection to the investigation.

The probe has been large in scale. Sunday Guardian Live reported investigators have been working through 10,000 hours of footage and have received more than 20,000 tips, while other outlets describe law enforcement as reviewing thousands of hours of video with federal partners. Authorities have signaled a shift from an initial rescue posture to a more methodical forensic and video-review phase, and NBC reporting summarized that investigators are preparing to return the Guthrie residence to the family as searches wind down.

Savannah Guthrie, the NBC Today co-host and Nancy’s daughter, visited a memorial outside her mother’s home with sister Annie and brother-in-law Tommaso Cioni, hugging family members and leaving flowers. Savannah wrote after the visit, “We feel the love and prayers from our neighbors, from the Tucson community and from around the country.” The family has offered a public reward for information; multiple outlets report a $1,000,000 reward while Sunday Guardian Live reports the amount as $1.1 million.

Investigators say the immediate next steps will center on DNA leads and tips. With FBI analysis, investigative genetic genealogy work under consideration, and thousands of hours of video still under review, law enforcement and the Guthrie family are awaiting the next break in a case that remains open and active.