DNA from glove near Guthrie home appears to match glove worn by suspect : NPR
Law enforcement from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI work on a Range Rover in the parking lot of a Culver’s in Tucson, Arizona, early Saturday.
Ty O’Neil/AP
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Ty O’Neil/AP
A glove containing DNA found about three kilometers from the house Today Host Savannah Guthrie’s mother appears to match those worn by a masked person outside her front door in Tucson the night she disappeared, the FBI said Sunday.
The glove, discovered in a roadside field, was sent for DNA testing. The FBI said in a statement that it received preliminary results on Saturday and is awaiting official confirmation. The development comes as law enforcement gathers more potential evidence as the search for Guthrie’s mother enters its third week. Authorities previously said they had not identified any suspects.
Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen at her home in Arizona on January 31 and was reported missing the next day. Authorities say his blood was found on the porch. Purported ransom demands were sent to the media, but two payment deadlines were missed.
The discovery came to light days after investigators released surveillance videos of the masked person outside Guthrie’s front door. A porch camera recorded video of a person with a backpack who was wearing a ski mask, long pants, a jacket and gloves.
On Thursday, the FBI named the person a suspect. He described him as a man about 5 feet 9 inches tall and of medium build. The agency said he was carrying a 25-liter “Ozark Trail Hiker Pack” backpack.
Late Friday night, law enforcement officers cordoned off a road about 2 miles from Guthrie’s home as part of their investigation. A series of sheriff’s and FBI vehicles, including forensic vehicles, drove through the roadblock.
Investigators also tagged and towed a Range Rover SUV from the parking lot of a nearby restaurant Friday evening. The Sheriff’s Department later said this activity was part of the Guthrie investigation, but no arrests were made.
Sheriff’s deputies arrested a person for questioning during a traffic stop south of Tucson on Tuesday. Authorities did not say what led them to arrest the man, but confirmed he had been released. The same day, deputies and FBI agents conducted a court-authorized search in Rio Rico, about an hour’s drive south of the city.
Authorities have expressed concern for Nancy Guthrie’s health, as she requires life-saving daily medications. She reportedly had a pacemaker and suffered from high blood pressure and heart problems, according to sheriff’s dispatcher audio on Broadcastify.com.
Earlier in the investigation, authorities said they collected DNA on Nancy Guthrie’s property that did not belong to Guthrie or those in close contact with her. Investigators were working to identify who it belonged to.
The FBI also said about 16 gloves were found in various locations near the home, most of which were research gloves that had been discarded.
