The DNA on a glove discarded a few miles away from Nancy Guthrie’s home could now provide the long-awaited breakthrough in one of the nation’s most chilling abduction cases.
Investigators are preparing to enter the genetic evidence into the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System, known as CODIS in hopes of identifying the masked figure seen lurking outside her front door.
The glove was found roughly two miles from the Tucson home where the 84-year-old mother of Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie vanished. It has emerged as a critical piece of evidence that authorities believe could help find a suspect.
According to the FBI, preliminary DNA results from the glove suggest it could be linked to the person captured on surveillance video outside Nancy Guthrie’s home the night she disappeared.
Investigators are now awaiting official confirmation before expanding their forensic analysis and comparing the genetic profile against federal databases used to identify criminal suspects nationwide.
The breakthrough comes as the search for Guthrie is now in its third week, with no arrests made and mounting urgency surrounding her condition.
Authorities have expressed concern for her health, noting she requires daily medication and has a pacemaker, along with a history of high blood pressure and heart problems.
Nancy Guthrie was last seen on January 31 at her home in Tucson’s Catalina Foothills, an upscale desert enclave known for its secluded properties and quiet streets.
Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen at her home on January 31 and reported missing the following day. She is pictured with her daughter and Today Show host, Savannah
A glove containing DNA was discovered about two miles from Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson home
Authorities believe the glove may match those worn by the masked person captured outside Guthrie’s front door
She was reported missing the following day under circumstances that quickly escalated into a nationwide investigation.
What investigators discovered at the scene have sparked fears of a violent abduction.
Authorities said Nancy Guthrie’s blood was found on the front porch of her home, suggesting she may have been injured during the encounter.
Surveillance footage from a porch camera captured a masked individual standing outside her door, wearing gloves, a jacket, long pants, and carrying a distinctive backpack.
The FBI later identified the person in the video as a suspect, describing him as a man approximately 5 feet, 9 inches tall with a medium build.
The agency said he was carrying a distinctive 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack that was purchased at Walmart – a detail investigators hope could help identify him.
Pima County Sheriff Christ Nanos said authorities are working directly with Walmart management in hopes of identifying purchase records or surveillance footage that could help identify the suspect.
Officials said clothing worn by the suspect may also have been purchased from Walmart, though they cautioned that those items are not exclusively sold there.
The glove at the center of the investigation was discovered in a field beside a road roughly two miles from Guthrie’s home.
The area was quickly sealed off as FBI agents and sheriff’s deputies descended on the scene.
Savannah Guthrie publicly appealed to her mother’s captor, saying, ‘It is never too late to do the right thing.’
Authorities said her blood was discovered on the front porch of her home
The FBI previously said approximately 16 gloves were found near the home during the investigation
Pima County sheriff and FBI work on a Range Rover in a Culver’s parking lot in Tucson, Arizona on Saturday
A person places flowers in front of Nancy Guthrie’s home in Tucson on Friday
On Monday, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said Google is trying to ‘scratch’ through layers of stored data to uncover potential footage of the suspect who carried out Guthrie’s abduction
Forensic teams combed the area as multiple law enforcement vehicles blocked access to the road.
The evidence is especially significant because investigators previously revealed they had collected DNA from Guthrie’s property that did not belong to her or anyone known to be in close contact with her.
The glove could provide the missing link needed to match that unidentified DNA to a specific individual.
Authorities have also uncovered around 16 gloves scattered in various locations near the home.
While most were determined to belong to searchers and volunteers, the glove now undergoing DNA testing appears to stand apart as being potentially connected to the suspect.
The investigation has expanded rapidly, with law enforcement detaining individuals for questioning, conducting court-authorized searches, and towing vehicles believed to be relevant to the case.
A Range Rover SUV was seized from a nearby restaurant parking lot, although officials have not disclosed its connection to the disappearance.
The search for Nancy Guthrie has now entered its third week
A Range Rover SUV was seized from a nearby restaurant parking lot, although officials have not disclosed its connection to the disappearance
Residents from Chandler, Arizona pray at a makeshift memorial at the entrance to Nancy Guthrie’s home as the search continues for the 84-year-old woman
Investigators have also been flooded with information from the public.
The FBI said it has received more than 13,000 tips, while the Pima County Sheriff’s Department reported taking at least 18,000 calls related to the case that have generated between 40,000 and 50,000 leads.
Sheriff Nanos previously reported that investigators had fielded tens of thousands of calls from members of the public, underscoring both the national attention on the case and the immense challenge of separating meaningful leads from false alarms.
Authorities have also publicly cleared Nancy Guthrie’s family members as possible suspects, calling them victims in the case.
Nanos said the family has been ‘nothing but cooperative and gracious and are victims in this case.’
‘To suggest otherwise is not only wrong, it is cruel,’ Nanos explained. ‘The Guthrie family are victims plain and simple.’
He later explained that he issued the statement out of concern for the family’s wellbeing.
‘Sometimes we forget we’re human and we hurt and kindness matters. It is every cops duty to stand up and be that voice for our victims,’ Nanos said.
Federal agents have also canvassed gun stores in recent days as part of the investigation, according to a federal law enforcement official.
‘Things are still very fluid and we are out on many leads,’ the official said, describing the canvass as part of the routine investigative process.
The official warned that excessive public reporting on investigative steps could undermine the search, cautioning that revealing too much information ‘gives the perpetrator a window into the investigation. That’s not helpful.’
Law enforcement has received more than 13,000 tips related to the disappearance
Jennifer Bond signs a banner that reads ‘Bring her home’ and shows a photo of Nancy Guthrie, at the KVOA newsroom, where Savannah worked earlier in her career, in Tucson, Arizona
Even President Donald Trump has weighed in on the case, writing on Truth Social that he was monitoring developments and expressing optimism about the investigation
For Savannah Guthrie, the ordeal has unfolded under the glare of national attention.
In a video message posted to Instagram on Sunday night she pleaded directly with whoever may be holding her mother.
‘It is never too late to do the right thing,’ Guthrie said. ‘And we are here. And we believe in the essential goodness of every human being, that it’s never too late.’
Her appeals have grown increasingly emotional as days pass without answers, reflecting the anguish of a family clinging to hope amid the uncertainty.
Even President Donald Trump has weighed in on the case, writing on Truth Social that he was monitoring developments and expressing optimism about the investigation.
‘Hopefully there will be a positive result!’ Trump wrote, praising those ‘working so hard, with such expertise and knowledge.’
Trump has also warned that the abductor could face the harshest possible punishment if Nancy Guthrie is found dead saying they would be ‘very, very severe – the most severe.’
Asked whether that could include capital punishment, Trump told the New York Post, ‘The most, yeah – that’s true.’
