Investigators searching for missing 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie say a much-watched clue in the case, a pair of gloves found near her Tucson home, has led to a DNA identification that does not point to the person authorities believe abducted her.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said further DNA analysis traced the gloves to a local restaurant employee who is not considered a suspect, a development that closes off what had been described as a promising line of inquiry as the investigation stretches into its second month.
Nancy Guthrie, the mother of NBC “Today” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, was last seen by relatives on 31 January after spending the evening at the Tucson home of her older daughter, Annie Guthrie, and her son-in-law, according to a Reuters chronology of the case. Authorities have treated the disappearance as an abduction.
In the early hours of 1 February, a doorbell camera at Nancy Guthrie’s house captured video of a man wearing a ski mask, backpack, gloves and a holstered gun tampering with the device, Reuters reported. About half an hour later, her pacemaker app lost contact with her phone line, and relatives notified police later that morning after she failed to appear for church services.
The image of the masked figure at the front door has remained at the centre of the case. Reuters said the sheriff later described the footage as “the single biggest clue” to emerge. In the days that followed, Savannah Guthrie and her siblings posted video appeals to the public and to whoever may be holding their mother, saying they were aware of media reports about a ransom note and urging abductors to make contact.
On 5 February, authorities confirmed DNA tests showed blood found on Nancy Guthrie’s front porch came from her, according to Reuters. The same Reuters account said two deadlines referenced in what it described as a purported ransom letter passed on 5 and 9 February without any resolution.
Savannah Guthrie has used social media repeatedly to amplify the search. In one appeal cited by Reuters, she said, “This is very valuable to us and we will pay.” In another, she said, “We believe our mom is still out there,” asking the public for help. When authorities released images of the masked man on 10 February, Reuters reported she re-posted them on Instagram with the caption: “We believe she is still alive; bring her home.”
It was against that backdrop of intense public attention that investigators began collecting gloves found around the area. A glove recovered about two miles from Nancy Guthrie’s home drew particular interest because it resembled the gloves worn by the masked figure seen on camera, according to reporting by People. CBS News later reported that the glove was found in a field near a roadside and was among approximately 16 gloves collected in various areas near the house, though the FBI said most of the other gloves belonged to searchers who discarded them while working the area.
Reuters reported that a DNA sample was obtained on 15 February from gloves found discarded about two miles from Nancy Guthrie’s home and that authorities said they resembled the pair worn by the masked man. Two days later, Reuters said the glove DNA failed to produce a match in the national CODIS database of known genetic profiles.
At the time, the FBI said the glove submitted for analysis was “different and appears to match the gloves” worn by the masked man, Reuters reported. After that DNA update, Savannah Guthrie posted a video message urging cooperation, saying, “we still have hope,” and calling on anyone with information “to do the right thing,” according to Reuters.
In the weeks since, investigators carried out further testing that ultimately identified the source of the DNA on the gloves but did not tie it to the disappearance. Reuters reported on 4 March that the gloves were traced through further DNA analysis to a local restaurant employee who is not considered a suspect, indicating a dead end for what had been a once-promising lead.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, speaking to local outlet KVOA in comments reported by People, pushed back on suggestions the gloves were simply discarded by law enforcement. “There was some talk and discussion that it was police officers out in the field just discarding [the gloves], that is so far from the truth,” Nanos said. He added: “We knew that at that time, we believed wholeheartedly that those gloves belonged to a restaurant and guess what? The owner of the glove, we found working at a restaurant across the street.”
Nanos said of that lead: “It has nothing to do with the case,” according to People’s account of the interview. People reported that the sheriff’s department later posted on X on 4 March confirming the individual was “not part of this investigation.”
The development leaves investigators again leaning heavily on the original security footage and other digital clues around the night of the disappearance. People reported that investigators previously said the doorbell camera was disconnected at 1:47 a.m. local time, and that the camera detected a dark figure walking toward the house at 2:12 a.m., with Nancy Guthrie’s pacemaker disconnecting from her phone app at 2:28 a.m. People also cited an FBI description of the suspect as “a male, approximately 5’9” – 5’10” tall, with an average build” and wearing a black “Ozark Trail Hiker Pack” backpack.
Investigators have indicated that other items remain under examination. Nanos told KVOA that other gloves sent to a Florida lab could be different and that testing could take time. “It’s a challenge because we know we have DNA, but now we have to deal with that mixture and how we’re going to separate it,” he said, according to People.
The Guthrie family has also increased financial incentives for information. People reported that on 24 February Savannah Guthrie released a video saying the family was offering up to a $1 million reward for information leading to Nancy Guthrie’s recovery, while also donating $500,000 to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and that the FBI’s $100,000 reward remained active.
For now, the identification of the glove owner appears to remove one of the few tangible pieces of physical evidence publicly discussed in the case. Investigators have not announced any arrests, and Reuters reported that a man taken into custody for questioning after authorities searched a home in Rio Rico on 10 February was later released and no arrests were made.
Authorities have continued to ask the public to focus on verifiable tips and to report any information about the masked man captured on camera, his clothing and backpack, and any suspicious vehicles or activity in the area in the early hours of 1 February. With the glove lead now ruled out, investigators appear to be returning to those core questions about how the suspect approached the home, how Nancy Guthrie was removed, and what digital and physical traces may still be recoverable from the short window between the camera tampering and the loss of contact from her pacemaker app.
