TUCSON, AZ — The FBI is now examining a hair sample recovered from Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson home as investigators continue trying to identify who abducted the 84-year-old mother of Savannah Guthrie in February.
People familiar with the case told ABC News the sample was collected from the house months ago and sent recently to the FBI after moving through a private Florida lab that works with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. Federal agents are using newer testing methods in hopes of extracting usable evidence.
Authorities have not said whether the DNA will produce a match, but they continue to describe the material as potentially important to the case.
Hair sample moved from a Florida lab to FBI testing
An FBI official confirmed that the bureau recently received a hair sample that had been collected in February. The official said the agency had requested the material more than two months ago and that the Pima County Sheriff’s Office first sent it to a private lab in Florida.
Eleven weeks later, the lab transferred the original sample to the FBI Laboratory for analysis. Investigators are now using advanced technology to study it more closely and determine whether it can help point them toward a suspect.
The FBI said there is no new DNA evidence in the case, underscoring that the sample itself was not newly found. Instead, investigators are trying to make better use of evidence already recovered from the home.
County investigators say the DNA may be mixed
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department has previously said the DNA recovered from the home appears to come from more than one person. That means analysts must separate or “untangle” the sample before they can determine whether it contains a useful profile.
Sheriff Chris Nanos told a Neighborhood Watch group that the process could take as long as six more months. He said the work is complicated and may require careful comparison before any clear result emerges.
That description suggests investigators are dealing with a difficult biological sample rather than a straightforward single-source match, which can slow testing and limit immediate answers.
Multiple labs are working the case nationwide
Nanos also said as many as five other laboratories around the country are involved in the investigation. He did not identify those labs, explain their specific roles, or say whether they are handling additional evidence connected to the abduction.
The broader laboratory effort shows how many steps remain before authorities may be able to narrow the field of possible suspects. Even with federal and county resources in play, officials have not described a breakthrough.
About two dozen investigators from Pima County and the FBI are still actively assigned to the case, according to authorities. The continued staffing suggests the search remains open and active even as public progress appears limited.
Few public leads since the early evidence release
After investigators released key items early in the case, including images from Nancy Guthrie’s doorbell camera, there has been little visible movement toward finding her or identifying the person or people involved. Officials have not publicly outlined a clear suspect, motive, or location for Guthrie.
That lack of visible progress has left the family and investigators waiting on evidence that may take months to process. The case has become a long-running search built largely around forensic work and follow-up investigation.
Authorities have continued to treat the abduction as an active case, but they have not announced any arrests or confirmed where Guthrie is.
Savannah Guthrie speaks about the pain of not knowing
Savannah Guthrie recently spoke publicly for the first time about her mother’s abduction in an interview with former co-host Hoda Kotb. She said it is “too much to bear” to think that the situation may be connected to her, and she apologized through tears to her mother and family.
She also said the family still has no clear answers. “We still don’t know … Honestly, we don’t know anything,” she said, adding that the family “cannot be at peace” without information.
Savannah Guthrie’s comments reflected the uncertainty surrounding the case and the emotional strain of waiting for investigators to learn what happened to her mother.
Authorities ask anyone with information to come forward
Officials continue urging the public to contact law enforcement with any useful information. Anyone who may know something about the abduction is asked to call 911, the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI, or the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900.
The case remains under investigation, and authorities have said they remain committed to pursuing leads. For now, the FBI’s new testing of the hair sample is one of the few specific developments publicly acknowledged in the effort to find answers.
Investigators have not said when they expect the analysis to be completed or whether it will produce a result that advances the search.
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