The Pima County Sheriff’s Department announced Tuesday that DNA recovered from a glove discovered near the area where 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie disappeared did not match any profiles in the FBI’s national DNA database.
Sheriff Chris Nanos said the unknown male DNA profile was submitted to the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), which compares forensic DNA with profiles from convicted offenders across the country. The search did not produce any matches.
“The DNA that was submitted to CODIS was from the set of gloves found two miles away,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement Tuesday. “It did not trigger a match in CODIS and did not match DNA found at the property.”
Authorities said additional DNA evidence recovered from Guthrie’s Catalina Foothills home is still being analyzed, and further forensic testing is underway as investigators continue to examine evidence related to the case.
The glove was found roughly two miles from Guthrie’s residence and is believed to be similar to gloves worn by a masked individual captured on surveillance footage the night the elderly woman vanished. Detectives are working to determine whether the item is connected to the suspect seen in the video.
Investigators from multiple agencies have been gathering and testing evidence as part of an ongoing criminal investigation. Sheriff’s officials have previously said Guthrie’s family members have been ruled out as suspects.
Guthrie, the mother of television journalist Savannah Guthrie, was reported missing on February 1 after a family member dropped her off at her Tucson-area home. Authorities believe she may have been abducted from the residence.
“We’re hopeful that we’re always getting closer,” Nanos said. “But the news now is that the DNA on the glove that was found two miles away was submitted for CODIS, and we just learned there were no hits.”
Meanwhile, investigators say clothing and equipment worn by the masked suspect seen in widely circulated doorbell camera footage may have been purchased at Walmart, a development authorities describe as one of the most significant leads so far.
According to Nanos, detectives believe several items visible in the surveillance video—including the suspect’s black Ozark Trail Hiker backpack—were sold by the retail chain. The backpack brand is carried exclusively by Walmart.
Authorities are now working to identify the specific brands of clothing worn by the suspect, including the mask and other gear visible in the footage. Investigators are also trying to determine whether the items were purchased online or at a physical Walmart store, either in Arizona or another state.
Detectives have spent days reviewing surveillance footage from Walmart locations in and around Tucson as they attempt to track down the buyer.
Walmart has reportedly provided investigators with records of recent purchases of the Ozark Trail Hiker backpack, including both in-store and online transactions from Tucson and surrounding areas. A spokesperson for the company declined to comment on the investigation.
The backpack has become a central focus for authorities as the search for Guthrie enters its third week.
Federal investigators have also examined the suspect’s mask seen in the doorbell footage. While the mask appears lighter in the video, authorities believe the color difference is likely caused by the infrared capabilities of the Nest camera and that the mask itself is actually black.
The FBI has released images of the suspect, describing him as a man of average build standing approximately 5 feet 9 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall.
Over the weekend, the FBI also confirmed that a black glove recovered near Guthrie’s home appears consistent with the gloves worn by the suspect in the surveillance video, potentially providing another key piece of evidence as the investigation continues.
