Investigators have recovered DNA from Nancy Guthrie’s property that does not belong to her or anyone known to be in close contact with her, authorities said.
‘DNA other than Nancy Guthrie’s and those in close contact to her has been collected from the property,’ the sheriff’s department said, adding that investigators are working to identify who it belongs to and are not disclosing where it was found.
The sheriff’s department, with the aide of federal agents, have been hunting Tucson, Arizona, for nearly two weeks after Guthrie, 84, vanished from her $1million home in the foothills of the city.
Investigators found several gloves, ranging from roughly two to 10 miles away from Guthrie’s home.
‘Reports that a glove was found inside the residence or on the property are inaccurate,’ the sheriff’s department added.
Officials said that the evidence requires forensic analysis and will be sent to the same out-of-state lab that has been utilized since the beginning of the investigation.
The decision was discussed with and agreed upon by local FBI leadership, according to officials.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told ABC News that using the DNA they have from the family and household help they will now ‘go through and try to eliminate people.’
Investigators have been hunting for Nancy, seen here with her daughter Savannah, for 12 days after she disappeared from her home
Investigators found several gloves, ranging from roughly two to 10 miles away from Guthrie’s home
Nanos added that he is hopeful that investigators are making progress in finding Guthrie.
Earlier on Friday, Nanos had denied the existence of any glove to Fox News correspondent Matt Finn: ‘We have no glove. We never found a glove on that property.’
Reuters reported Thursday that Nanos blocked the FBI from examining a glove and DNA that were found inside the residence so they could be processed at the FBI’s national crime lab at Quantico, Virginia.
After the request was made, Nanos denied it and instead sent the evidence for testing at a private DNA lab in Florida, a law enforcement source told the outlet.
The sheriff was accused of ‘further slowing’ the case by not utilizing federal resources, as well as prolonging the ‘Guthrie family’s grief and the community’s wait for justice.
But Nanos has hit back at the allegations that he blocked the FBI from accessing evidence, telling KVOA that it’s ‘not even close to the truth’.
‘Actually, the FBI just wanted to send the one or two they found by the crime scene, closest to it – mile, mile and a half… I said ‘No, why do that? Let’s just send them all to where all the DNA exists, all the profiles and the markers exist.’ They agreed, makes sense,’ he told the news outlet Thursday night.
During his Thursday night remarks, the sheriff claimed ‘quite a number’ of gloves were recovered during the search. ‘We don’t even know the true value of these gloves,’ he added.
The sheriff recently told Fox News that Savannah Guthrie, co-host of the Today Show, texted him, ‘she has her own people and didn’t need him.’
However, Nanos told ABC he is continuing the investigation, as he and the investigators planned to return to the home on Friday to determine the weight of the suspect captured on the home’s security camera.
Several gloves were found and will be sent to the same out-of-state lab that has been utilized since the beginning of the investigation
‘It is really about just taking that video and frame-by-frame and trying to get as much out as we can,’ Nanos said.
The FBI released more details about the suspect on Thursday, describing him as a 5-foot-9-inch or 5-foot-10-inch male with an average build.
The bureau also shared photos from multiple angles of a black, 25-liter ‘Ozark Trail Hiker Pack’ backpack, which the agency said is the brand and model the suspect was wearing.
FBI Phoenix also announced it has hiked its reward to $100,000 for information on Guthrie’s disappearance.
Multiple sources close to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department previously told the Daily Mail how Nanos allegedly mishandled the crime scene and issued contradictory messages to the public.
According to those insiders, a vital search-and-rescue aircraft was grounded in the initial hours of the investigation when it was needed most.
The alleged delay in getting the surveillance aircraft airborne was not caused by mechanical issues or weather, but by staffing shortages that left the department without qualified pilots to fly the plane – a shortage sources blame directly on Nanos.
In multiple press conferences, the sheriff has apologized for delays and walked back statements made during television interviews.
At one briefing, he said Nancy was ‘harmed at the home’ and taken from her bed, before later saying he had misspoken.
In another press conference, he failed to instill confidence when asked about potential suspects and motives, replying: ‘Your guess work is as good as mine.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to the Pima County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
