Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, who is leading the investigation into the abduction of Savannah Guthrie’s 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie, says he believes the suspect acted with a specific target in mind.
“I think this was an individual who had a target for whatever reason,” Nanos told NBC’s Liz Kreutz in an interview that aired on the Today show on Wednesday, Feb. 18. “He has made it tough, but I’ve got some pretty tough investigators too.”
Nanos said investigators are closely focused on DNA evidence recovered from Nancy’s home. A glove found about two miles from the residence was sent for testing, but the sample did not match anyone in the national DNA database. Still, Nanos emphasized that what was collected inside the home could be far more significant.
“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,” he said. “To me, that’s more critical than any glove I found two miles away.”
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Authorities previously released surveillance images and video from the early morning hours of Feb. 1, when they believe Nancy was abducted. The footage shows a masked man on Nancy’s porch, carrying a gun and wearing gloves.
After the material was made public, the FBI’s Phoenix office described the suspect as a male, approximately 5’9” to 5’10” tall, with an average build. The agency also noted that, in the video, he appears to be wearing a black 25-liter “Ozark Trail Hiker Pack” backpack that may have been purchased at Walmart.
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Nanos also addressed online speculation that the suspect may have been wearing a ring beneath his glove.
“I look at the same photo you look at and I see it,” he said. “I see people have circled the [spot where the ring might be] and I say, ‘I’m going to give that to my team.’ They’ll look at that.”
Nanos added that widespread attention has helped generate tips and resources for investigators. “So they look at this and look at Savannah and go, ‘This is us,’” he said.
The FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to Nancy’s recovery or an arrest in the case.
