Investigators Turn to Genetic Genealogy as Nancy Guthrie Search Enters Third Week

Nancy Guthrie, 84 and the mother of NBC “Today” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, has been missing from her Tucson-area home since Feb. 1, and Pima County investigators say they are now pursuing investigative genetic genealogy as the search moves into its third week. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said, “Investigators are currently looking into additional investigative genetic genealogy options for DNA evidence to check for matches. CODIS is one option of many databases that are available.”

Law enforcement has recovered multiple DNA samples in and around Guthrie’s property, and the department told reporters that biological evidence from the home is being examined and DNA profiles are at a lab for analysis. The FBI and local authorities recovered gloves about 2 miles from the house that appeared to match gloves worn by a masked figure recorded on a porch camera; a DNA sample from those gloves did not return a hit in the national Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, quoted by media outlets, said the separate DNA found at Guthrie’s property “does not match her or anyone ‘in close contact with her’” and “has not produced a match in the national law enforcement DNA database known as CODIS.”

Genetic genealogy, sometimes called forensic investigative genetic genealogy or FIGG, is now among the options investigators are weighing. The technique begins with obtaining a usable DNA profile and comparing it to profiles in genealogy databases to find distant relatives, then building family trees and using public records to “triangulate on particular individuals,” as Corrado told NPR. NPR’s reporting also quoted Knight warning that FIGG “is not a magic wand” and that “some cases take years and years and years to figure out through genetic genealogy.”

Forensic scientists caution that the quality and quantity of DNA matter. Suzanna Ryan, laboratory director at Pure Gold Forensics, told CBS News that “when investigators turn to genetic genealogy, there has to be enough of a DNA sample left to undergo additional analysis.” Ryan added that sometimes “the original lab has to use all of the sample for traditional testing in order to even attempt to obtain a result,” and that an ideal sample is single-source while mixed samples can be used only if most of the material is from a potential perpetrator.

Past high-profile cases show both FIGG’s power and its limits. Investigators used GEDmatch to narrow leads in the Golden State Killer case before obtaining a decisive match from a swab taken from Joseph DeAngelo’s car door handle and tissue found in his trash. Genealogical matching also played a role in the 2022 University of Idaho killings that led to charges against Bryan Kohberger, where investigators built family trees and used covert trash collection. NPR also notes the Grim Sleeper case, where a familial search in CODIS led investigators to Lonnie Franklin.

Database access and privacy rules will shape any FIGG effort in the Guthrie case. FamilyTreeDNA stresses its investigative-matching option is “strictly voluntary and opt-in only,” and platform policies differ: the major consumer services 23andMe, AncestryDNA and MyHeritage generally prohibit law enforcement access except when compelled by a warrant or court order. With DNA profiles at a lab and genealogical options under review, Pima County continues active analysis and searching; no arrests or public suspect identifications have been reported as investigators pursue next steps. Photographs show Pima County sheriff’s officers on Guthrie’s property as of Feb. 17, 2026, underscoring the ongoing, multiweek effort.