Nancy Guthrie Case Update: Mixed Hair Sample Sent to FBI Laboratory in Abduction Probe

A mixed hair sample from Nancy Guthrie's home in Tucson, Arizona, has reportedly reached an FBI laboratory for analysis in the investigation into her 1 February abduction.

Guthrie, 84, is the mother of 'Today' presenter Savannah Guthrie. The sample was collected in February, and an FBI official has stressed that the laboratory work concerns existing material, rather than a fresh discovery of DNA evidence.

Evidence Sent to FBI for Advanced Testing

Sources familiar with the investigation described the recent transfer of the original sample from a private Florida laboratory working with the Pima County Sheriff's Department. The bureau is examining it with advanced technology in the hope of identifying a suspect.

An FBI official confirmed when the material was collected, stating, 'There's no new DNA evidence in the Nancy Guthrie case. The FBI requested this material over two months ago.'

The official's clarification separates the collection of the evidence from its subsequent transfer. The sample has moved between laboratories, but it is not material newly recovered from Guthrie's home.

No precise date for the handover is provided in the account, which also does not identify the Florida laboratory or explain the interval between the bureau's request and its receipt of the sample.

The reported transfer does not establish that investigators have identified the person responsible. It concerns the examination of material they hope will assist them in doing so.

Complex DNA Mixture Slows Forensic Work

The Pima County Sheriff's Department has described the DNA as a mixed sample containing genetic material from more than one person. Investigators need to separate those contributions to isolate the information they are seeking.

No individual is identified in the account as a contributor to the mixed genetic material.

Sheriff Chris Nanos told a neighbourhood watch group that this could take up to six more months. His estimate concerned the work required to isolate useful material, rather than a timetable for locating Guthrie or resolving the abduction.

Sending the sample to the FBI provides another opportunity to examine it, while the difficulty of separating the genetic material remains the problem outlined by local authorities.

Nanos also stated that as many as five other laboratories nationwide were working on the case. Their individual roles were not detailed, and his remarks did not set out separate completion dates for their examinations.

The sheriff's estimate leaves open the prospect of further months of forensic work alongside the continuing search. No outcome from the bureau's analysis is reported in the account.

Family Pleas and Reward as Search Drags On

About two dozen investigators from Pima County and the FBI remain actively involved in the inquiry. The laboratory work forms part of an investigation that has also included public releases of doorbell camera images and surveillance photographs.

Despite those early releases, little progress has been reported in establishing Guthrie's whereabouts or identifying the person responsible for her abduction.

Savannah spoke to Hoda Kotb in what the account described as her first public comments. The presenter told Kotb it was 'too much to bear to think that I brought this to her bedside. Some can do the right thing.'

Her comments expressed personal distress, rather than establishing why her mother was abducted.

The FBI official also described the bureau as 'fully committed to this investigation.'

The FBI has increased the reward from $100,000 to $1 million.