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By Mandy Taheri
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Jennifer Coffindaffer, a retired FBI special agent, on Wednesday wrote in a post to X that the “biggest news” in the Nancy Guthrie case involves DNA.
Why It Matters
Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, has been missing for over a month. Her disappearance prompted a multiagency search involving local law enforcement and the FBI. Nancy was last seen at her home in the Catalina Foothills neighborhood of Tucson, Arizona, on January 31.
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Alleged ransom notes were sent to multiple news outlets after her disappearance.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said at a news conference last month there were clues at the crime scene indicating she "did not leave on her own." The sheriff has also said Guthrie needs daily medication, and it could be fatal if she does not take it every 24 hours.
Nanos said in comments to the BBC that he believes Guthrie was a victim of a targeted kidnapping.
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What To Know
Coffindaffer said DNA found inside Guthrie’s house is “the biggest news we have had recently,” adding that it “may truly be the perpetrator’s.”
She continued, “Not just that it is not Nancy's/her family's but that they are looking at the mixture being that of the bad guy(s).”
In February, investigators said mixed and partial DNA samples were found at Guthrie’s home. They said the DNA did not belong to Guthrie or those in close contact with her and are seeking to use investigative genetic genealogy in a bid to track down a suspect. The sheriff suggested the mixture could contain DNA from several people.
Authorities said last month that DNA from gloves found a few miles from Nancy Guthrie's home did not match any entries in CODIS, the FBI's national database. The FBI said the gloves appeared to match those worn by the masked person seen in the surveillance footage.
“This case is the polar opposite of a cold case," Coffindaffer told Newsweek for a related article. "It is a red-hot case with agents, up to 100, and analysts and Pima County Sheriff’s officers and other law enforcement working on all the actionable leads."
What People Are Saying
Timothy Courchaine, U.S. attorney for the district of Arizona, in a statement: "The United States Attorney’s Office, together with the FBI and every other law enforcement agency involved in finding Nancy, will go anywhere, do anything, and [persevere] always to find her."
Savannah Guthrie, in part in an Instagram video: "We also know that she may be lost, she may already be gone. She may have already gone home to the Lord that she loves and is dancing in heaven with her mom and her dad, and with her beloved brother Pierce, and with our daddy. And if this is what is to be, then we will accept it. But we need to know where she is, we need her to come home."
The Pima County Sheriff's Department, on Friday: "This remains an active investigation and will continue until Nancy Guthrie is located or all leads have been exhausted. The Pima County Sheriff's Department is refocusing resources to detectives specifically assigned to this case. As leads are developed and resolved, resource allocation may fluctuate. PCSD will maintain a patrol presence in the Guthrie neighborhood.”
What Happens Next
Anyone with information is asked to contact 1-800-CALL-FBI, 520-351-4900, 88-CRIME or visit tips.fbi.gov.
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the recovery of Nancy Guthrie and/or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance.
"To help keep the tip line available for actionable investigative law enforcement leads, please submit only serious and detailed fact-based information, no well-wishes or case theories. The tip line is not for personal messages to the Guthrie family," FBI Phoenix said.
A reward of $102,500 is being offered by 88-CRIME for the arrest of the person or persons involved in the disappearance.
Savannah Guthrie announced on Instagram the family is also offering a reward of up to $1 million, payable only for her mother's recovery.
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