FBI Delays Nancy Guthrie Hair Sample Analysis Due to Mixed DNA Results in Savannah Guthrie's Missing Mother Case

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) analysts have begun advanced DNA testing on a hair sample from the Tucson, Arizona, home of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today Show anchor Savannah Guthrie, but the mixed genetic profile could take six more months to untangle.

The sample reached the FBI Laboratory only in recent weeks, 11 weeks after a private Florida laboratory working with the Pima County Sheriff's Department collected it in February. An FBI official said the bureau had requested the material more than two months ago, describing the delayed handover as part of a continuing forensic process rather than a breakthrough.

Eleven Weeks Lost Before a Federal Lab Could Start

The hair was recovered from inside Nancy Guthrie's home, where investigators also documented blood on the front porch, a propped-open back door, and a doorbell camera that a masked intruder appeared to tamper with before disconnecting it at 1:47 a.m. on 1 February 2026.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said the DNA found inside the residence came from more than one person and did not belong to Nancy Guthrie, her family, or anyone who worked there. The Florida laboratory tested earlier samples before passing the original hair to the FBI for what one source described as new technology capable of parsing degraded or layered profiles.

Mixed DNA Carries a Forensic Time Cost

Nanos told a neighbourhood watch group recently that isolating a usable profile from the mixed sample could take up to six more months, a timeline that illustrates how unforgiving forensic science can be when genetic material from several people overlaps.

Mixed samples can place an unknown individual at a scene or eventually produce a profile for CODIS (Combined DNA Index System), though analysts must separate each strand before any comparison with the federal database is possible. Earlier testing on a glove found about two miles from the home produced no CODIS hits, and a local restaurant worker initially linked to that evidence was cleared.

Five Laboratories, 24 Investigators, and Still No Suspect

As many as five laboratories across the US are working on separate elements of the case, Nanos said, though officials have not identified the facilities or their specific roles. About two dozen Pima County and FBI investigators remain assigned to the investigation, which has entered its 11th week without a named suspect.

FBI Director Kash Patel released a surveillance photo on February 10 showing what he called a potential subject, a masked man roughly 5ft 9in to 5ft 10in tall wearing a 25-litre Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack. No one in that image has been publicly identified.

Reward Pool Above $1.2 Million Draws No Usable Tips

The Guthrie family is offering $1 million (£739,000) for information leading to Nancy's safe return. The FBI has posted a $100,000 (£74,000) reward for tips resulting in recovery or conviction, and 88-CRIME, a southern Arizona tipline, has added $102,500 (£76,000). The combined pool, above $1.2 million (£887,000), has not produced an actionable lead.

Savannah Guthrie, who returned to the Today Show on April 6 after a two-month absence, told former co-host Hoda Kotb during a March interview that she cannot shake the possibility her public profile put her mother in danger. 'Too much to bear to think that I brought this to her bedside, that it's because of me,' she said.

The anchor has said the family still does not know whether the ransom theory is correct. Several purported ransom demands in bitcoin arrived, though the Guthries said only two appeared genuine. For investigators, the mixed hair profile now represents the most technically promising lead, and also the slowest.