The search for Nancy Guthrie, the missing 84-year-old Tucson grandmother and mother of "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie, has entered its fourth week with a troubling development: DNA evidence collected from her home presents serious analytical challenges, and the sheriff's office chose to send key samples to a private Florida lab instead of using FBI laboratories or Arizona's own state Scientific Analysis Bureau.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos revealed last week that DNA recovered from Guthrie's home does not match her, her family members, or anyone who worked in the residence. But the samples are mixed with Guthrie's own DNA and are incomplete, creating a forensic puzzle that could take far longer to solve than anyone wants to hear.
Our lab tells us that there's challenges with it, and we understand those challenges.
That was Nanos speaking to NBC News. His next line was more sobering: the technology might need "weeks, months or maybe a year" to catch up to the problem.
According to the New York Post, A glove found two miles from Guthrie's home was sent to the private Florida lab for analysis. This week, the result came back: no match in the FBI's CODIS database, the national repository of convicted offender DNA profiles. That's a significant setback in a case that has produced no named suspects and, according to Nanos himself, no list of names investigators are working from.
The obvious question hangs in the air: why is a private Florida lab handling evidence in an Arizona missing persons case instead of the FBI's own forensic infrastructure or Arizona's state Scientific Analysis Bureau? No one has offered a public explanation.
For a case that has drawn national attention, that decision deserves scrutiny. The FBI is already involved, analyzing cellphone data, video, and conducting interviews. Sending DNA to a separate private facility fragments the chain of analysis and raises questions about coordination, speed, and accountability.
On Friday, the sheriff acknowledged the pace of the investigation but framed it as progress.
It's never fast enough for the sheriff. I want it like you, 'Come on, guys, let's go, let's go, let's find her.'
He described the investigation as "growing" and said his team is getting closer to identifying items visible in surveillance footage released over a week ago, which showed a masked man connected to the case. Nanos specifically mentioned progress on identifying clothing: shoes, pants, a shirt or jacket, beyond just the backpack previously noted.
We're not quitting. We'll find her.
Those are reassuring words. But reassurance without results has a shelf life, and four weeks is a long time for an 84-year-old woman to be missing.
Nanos has faced accusations of letting his ego dictate the direction of this investigation. Whether or not that charge is fair, the decision-making trail raises legitimate concerns:
That last point is especially notable. If the FBI is circulating photos and names to local businesses, the investigation may be further along than Nanos lets on. Or there may be a coordination problem between agencies that is costing this family precious time.
The American public has a reasonable expectation that when an elderly woman vanishes from her home and evidence of an intruder is found, every tool available gets deployed with urgency and transparency. That means using the best labs, not necessarily the most convenient ones. It means giving the public enough information to assist without compromising the case. And it means accountability when weeks pass and the answers aren't coming.
Savannah Guthrie, 54, has largely stayed out of the public commentary on the investigation. The family's restraint is notable. But families shouldn't have to wonder whether jurisdictional decisions or agency egos are slowing the search for their mother.
A masked figure on surveillance video. DNA that doesn't match anyone in the house. A glove found two miles away that doesn't match anyone in a national database. And a sheriff telling the country it might take a year to sort out the forensics.
Nancy Guthrie doesn't have a year. Nobody in that family believes she does. The people running this investigation need to act like they believe it too.
