Listen to this article
Estimated 2 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
The FBI says a glove containing DNA was found about three kilometres from Nancy Guthrie’s home and appears to match those worn by a masked person outside her front door in Tucson, Ariz., the night she vanished.
The glove, found in a field near the side of the road, was sent off for DNA testing. The FBI said in a statement on Sunday that it received preliminary results on Saturday and is awaiting official confirmation.
Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie, was last seen at her Arizona home on Jan. 31 and was reported missing the following day. Authorities say her blood was found on the front porch. Purported ransom notes were sent to news outlets, but two deadlines for paying have passed.
Approximately 16 gloves were found in various spots near the house, most of which were searchers’ gloves that had been discarded, the FBI said.
The discovery was revealed days after investigators had 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, jacket and gloves.
On Thursday, the FBI called the person a suspect. It described him as a man about five feet nine inches tall with a medium build. The agency said he was carrying a 25-litre “Ozark Trail Hiker Pack” backpack.
Authorities have expressed concern about Nancy Guthrie’s health because she needs vital daily medicine. She is said to have a pacemaker and have dealt with high blood pressure and heart issues, according to sheriff’s dispatcher audio on broadcastify.com.
Earlier in the investigation, authorities had said they had had collected DNA from Nancy Guthrie’s property which doesn’t belong to Guthrie or those in close contact with her. Investigators were working to identify who it belongs to.
