Nancy Guthrie Kidnapper Identified? Police Use Bryan Kohberger DNA Method to Track Down Suspect

Authorities in Arizona say DNA recovered from the home of missing 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie could identify a suspect in what investigators believe was a targeted kidnapping.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said forensic specialists are now focusing on genetic material found on Guthrie's Tucson property, after gloves discovered nearby failed to match any records in a national law enforcement database.

'We believe we may have some DNA there that may be our suspect, but we won't know that until that DNA is separated, sorted out,' Nanos told NBC's Today programme on Wednesday 18 February, describing it as 'more critical than any glove I found two miles away.'

DNA Method Linked To Bryan Kohberger Case Used In Guthrie Search

Sheriff's detectives are preparing to use investigative genetic genealogy (IGG) to analyse the sample, according to US media reports. The technique, which combines DNA profiling with public genealogy databases, has been used in a series of high-profile investigations over the past few years.

Unlike traditional checks against CODIS, the FBI's national DNA index, IGG can involve uploading crime scene DNA to consumer and open-source genealogy platforms. If the unknown profile shares DNA segments with users who have voluntarily submitted their genetic information, specialists can build extended family trees to narrow down possible suspects.

Police investigators used a similar approach in the case of Bryan Kohberger, who is accused of murdering four University of Idaho students in 2022, after trace DNA on a knife sheath was linked through genealogical searching.

Nanos did not name any specific databases that would be used in the Guthrie case, and there has been no confirmation that a partial or familial match has been identified. He said laboratory work to isolate and verify the DNA profile is still underway.

Sheriff Says Evidence Points To 'Targeted Kidnapping' Of Nancy Guthrie

Guthrie, the mother of Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, has been missing since Sunday, 1 February, from her home in the Catalina Foothills area, an affluent community north of central Tucson. Pima County Sheriff's Department officials have described the case as a 'targeted kidnapping.'

In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday 17 February, Nanos rejected speculation that Guthrie's disappearance might have resulted from a burglary gone wrong.

'I believe whoever did that knew what they were up to, knew who they were after,' he said, referring to surveillance footage from a doorbell camera at Guthrie's property. The video shows a masked individual at the front door in the early hours of the morning she went missing, according to the sheriff. Still images have been circulated by investigators in appeals for information.

Pacemaker Data May Provide Timeline In Guthrie Kidnapping

Detectives are also examining electronic data from Guthrie's medical devices as they try to establish a precise timeline of events. Family members say the 84-year-old wears a pacemaker linked to a smartphone monitoring app.

According to investigators, the pacemaker disconnected from Guthrie's phone shortly before 2.30am on the night she was last seen. The masked individual was captured tampering with her doorbell camera at 2.12am, providing what detectives view as a narrow but critical window in which the abduction is thought to have taken place.

The sheriff's office has not confirmed whether any ransom demand has been received or whether detectives have identified any motive beyond the view that Guthrie was deliberately targeted. No arrests have been made.

Pima County authorities have appealed for anyone with information about suspicious activity near Guthrie's home around the time of her disappearance to contact investigators. The search remains active, with specialist teams reviewing digital records, neighbourhood surveillance footage and forensic evidence from the scene.