DNA Dead Ends and Mixed Messages Stall Guthrie Abduction Investigation

It’s been 17 days since the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie was abducted from her Tucson home, and the disconnect between the FBI and Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos appears to be widening as each new clue yields only incremental progress and the sheriff’s public statements raise doubts about who’s really in charge.On Tuesday, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department announced that the DNA recovered from a glove recovered about two miles away from the home of Nancy Guthrie does not match non-Guthrie family DNA found at her home. The separate DNA samples from the glove and the home also failed to produce any hits in the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, a national database of DNA of people who are arrested or are otherwise compelled to give samples. But the FBI told Fox News Digital that “investigative genealogy is underway.” This process, which has proven highly effective, On Tuesday, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department announced that the DNA recovered from a glove recovered about two miles away from the home of Nancy Guthrie does not match non-Guthrie family DNA found at her home. The separate DNA samples from the glove and the home also failed to produce any hits in the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, a national database of DNA of people who are arrested or are otherwise compelled to give samples. Binvolves investigators and armchair detectives mining publicly available genealogy databases to determine whether the DNA matches a relative of the glove’s wearer. Investigators said the glove appeared consistent with the gloves the suspect was seen wearing in doorbell camera security footage. Mr. Nanos has appeared out of sync with what was actually happening on the ground. For instance, FBI agents in recent days have visited several gun stores throughout the Tucson area, showing employees lists of names and photographs to determine whether any of the individuals had recently visited or patronized the store. Mr. Nanos told a Fox News reporter, “That’s not true.”However, at least one gun store employee confirmed on camera in interviews with Fox News and NewsNation that he had spoken with FBI agents who showed him a list of names and photos.“I just went through the three sheets, typed them all in, and none of those people had ever been here,” Armor Bearer Arms co-owner Phillip Martin told NewsNation. TMZ reported that authorities have identified the holster the masked, gloved suspect was seen wearing in doorbell camera security footage and are focusing on 40 individuals in the Tucson area who have purchased the same holster. The suspect is described as a male of average build, standing between 5 feet 9 and 5 feet 10 tall, according to the FBI’s Operational Technology Division. Investigators were also consulting with Walmart management about the black 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack the suspect was seen wearing in security footage.“This backpack is exclusive to Walmart, and we are working with Walmart management to develop further leads,” Mr. Nanos told the Associated Press on Monday. The suspect’s clothing may have also been purchased at Walmart, although it isn’t “exclusively available” at the store and “remains a possibility only,” he added.The glove was sent to a private lab in Florida instead of the FBI’s national crime lab in Quantico — a decision that a law enforcement official close to the case told Reuters was “delaying the FBI’s ability to assist in the case.” A private forensic lab generally cannot upload DNA profiles into CODIS, something accredited labs like Arizona’s state crime labs can do. The results from the glove’s DNA test need to first be submitted to the Arizona state database before they can be entered into CODIS, a national law enforcement database. After the DNA results from the recovered glove failed to register a hit on CODIS, investigators will turn to investigative genetic genealogy, or IGG, which uses public genealogy databases to match relatives to DNA evidence recovered from crime scenes. IGG was notably used to arrest and convict Golden State Killer Joseph James DeAngelo for 13 murders and multiple rapes that for decades remained unsolved. It was also used to identify Bryan Kohlberger, the killer in the 2022 University of Idaho murders.“Now we start with genealogy and some of the partial DNA we have at the home,” Nanos said in an interview with NBC News on Tuesday. A DNA test of blood found near Ms. Guthrie’s front porch was confirmed to belong to her. It remains unclear if Ms. Guthrie, who suffers from a heart condition that requires both a pacemaker and prescription medication, is still alive.

DNA Dead Ends and Mixed Messages Stall Guthrie Abduction Investigation

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