Federal and state law enforcement in Arizona are still looking for Nancy Guthrie, the mother of NBC News anchor Savannah Guthrie. There’s hope that a found glove may contain DNA from a potential suspect. Stephanie Sy reports.
Amna Nawaz:
Federal and state law enforcement are still looking for Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Today Show co-host Savannah Guthrie. Local police address rumors today that Guthrie family members may have been involved in her disappearance.
In a statement, Pima County sheriff said they have been cleared as possible suspects and that “to suggest otherwise is not only wrong; it is cruel.”
But there is some hope that a found glove may contain DNA from a potential suspect.
Stephanie Sy has more.
Stephanie Sy:
As the search for Nancy Guthrie enters its third week, her daughter Savannah made another heartfelt plea to whoever knows her mom’s whereabouts.
Savannah Guthrie, Co-Host, “The Today Show”: It is never too late to do the right thing. And we are here. We believe.
Stephanie Sy:
Last week, The Today Show anchor posted a home video of her mom captioned: “We will never give up on her.”
Authorities continued to chase down leads after the 84-year-old was reported missing on February 1. The FBI said on Sunday that a glove found two miles from Nancy Guthrie’s house appears to match those worn by the masked person caught on her porch camera.
Let’s just start with the glove. Is that a major break in its importance in being able to potentially find a suspect?
Ray Johnson, Retired FBI Special Agent:
I would say it is.
Stephanie Sy:
Ray Johnson is a retired FBI special agent who now teaches law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Ray Johnson:
The fact that the glove was within a two-mile radius of the house and the fact that they were able to extract DNA from that glove, taken as a totality and taken together, that gives me hope.
Stephanie Sy:
Johnson said national databases could help narrow down a suspect.
Ray Johnson:
If we can link it together with somebody who happened to match the description of the offender or be in the area or some of the Ring cameras that are constantly being sought after now for suspects, that helps us really get what we need for legal prosecution later and to get an answer as to what happened.
Stephanie Sy:
It’s still not clear what the motive behind Guthrie’s apparent kidnapping was. Johnson says certain details of the case make it untraditional.
Ray Johnson:
It does not feel to me what a garden-variety or a kidnapping for ransom would look like. In my experience, this feels more like a premeditated crime, either a burglary, either a robbery, something different than a true kidnapping, because, if you’re planning the kidnapping, you’re already going to have those ransom channels set up.
Stephanie Sy:
Law enforcement is also now reportedly using a tracking device called a signal sniffer. Mounted on a helicopter, it may be able to detect emissions from Nancy Guthrie’s pacemaker.
Savannah Guthrie’s Today Show colleagues have rallied behind her. And in a call with The New York Post today, President Trump threatened the kidnapper with the most severe federal consequences if Nancy Guthrie is not returned safely.
For the “PBS News Hour,” I’m Stephanie Sy.
