Former FBI agent Jonathan Gilliam said authorities are not back at square one after a glove found near Nancy Guthrie's home failed to return a DNA match.
"Eliminating leads is as important as affirming leads or evidence," Gilliam told Fox 10.
"Law enforcement investigators out there have to be diligently covering leads and considering all possibilities," he continued. "We have to remember that there is technology, there’s resources, and there’s investigators that are out there and if the clues are there and they are able to locate those clues, then we will see a solution of this."
The Pima County Sheriff's Department confirmed that the DNA found on Guthrie's property did not match hers or that of anyone close to her, according to the outlet.
The glove was found about two miles from her home and matched the description of the glove the suspect was seen wearing in the missing woman's home surveillance video. However, the glove did not result in a match in CODIS, which is the FBI's DNA index system used to identify criminals.
The DNA on the glove also did not match the DNA found on the property.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said he remains optimistic amid the ongoing search for Nancy Guthrie and that he will begin to worry once tips start to slow down.
"Because let's face it, you’ve been around enough to know that when these tips dry up, this case goes cold. We believe somebody out there knows who did this. We need that person to call," Nanos said Wednesday, according to KGUN.
The Sheriff’s Department said it has received tens of thousands of tips and that they continue to pour in. The sheriff said investigators have been working to identify the highest-priority tips first.
When investigators return to a site, it is because a new credible tip suggests looking for something new — not because authorities missed something, the sheriff said.
Nanos urged the public to keep submitting tips and allow investigators to determine whether they are leads worth pursuing. He also said tips are ranked in priority from one to four.
"Here’s a level one tip — that video — the doorbell. That would be a great example of a level one tip or maybe it’s this backpack has been identified as only purchased at Walmart. That’ll be pretty high," he said.
Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., condemned social media users who have been speculating online about the Nancy Guthrie investigation, saying that they are "hurting the investigation" and should "let law enforcement do their job."
Speaking to reporters in Arizona on Wednesday, the congresswoman said she "wished we stopped having these people that have fallen in social media platforms acting as if they are investigators," according to NBC News.
"I do think that it is hurting the investigation," Grijalva said. "We have people sort of throwing out descriptions that don’t resemble the description that’s been put out by the County Sheriff’s Department."
"We really do wish that they would let law enforcement do their job, because ultimately we want to bring Nancy home, and the Guthrie family would like to be able to see their mom," she continued.
{{#rendered}}An anonymous $100,000 donation significantly increased the reward in the search for missing 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, the Pima County Sheriff's Office confirmed Wednesday.
88-CRIME in Arizona announced it received the donation, boosting its reward offer in the case to $102,500. The organization shared the update on Facebook.
The increased 88-CRIME reward is separate from the FBI’s reward offer. The FBI is not involved in administering any non-FBI rewards.
The FBI continues to offer a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to Guthrie’s location or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Office has stepped into the spotlight again, but this time as the focus of a TV series.
According to A&E Television, the docu-follow series, “Desert Law" gives “elite access to one of the largest sheriff’s departments in America” and follows the high-intensity work of patrol deputies, the DUI unit and night detectives as they police more than 9,000 square miles of rugged terrain in Southern Arizona.
The first of 10 episodes is titled “Welcome to Pima County” and covers a hit-and-run investigation.
Detective Scott McLeod is filmed racing to track down a suspect, while Deputy Stewart responds to calls on suspicious activity in remote areas.
The series premiered in January, with seasons 1 and 2 filmed back-to-back in 2025.
Sheriff Nanos does not appear on camera but coordinated with the production company. The ongoing Nancy Guthrie investigation is also not featured.
Advanced DNA testing which combines crime scene DNA analysis and information from commercial genealogy databases could take weeks or months to process after the DNA found on a glove near Nancy Guthrie's home didn't produce a match in an FBI database, according to an expert.
Retired FBI special agent Jason Pack told Fox News Digital that Investigative genetic genealogy is a technique used by the FBI that "combines DNA analysis from crime scenes with searching publicly available commercial genealogy databases and old-fashioned genealogy research."
The technique is different from CODIS, as that database compares "crime scene DNA against people who have already been arrested or convicted," he added.
Pack said the investigative genetic genealogy could take several weeks up to several months in a case like this, noting it's "not a quick database check."
"Once the DNA profile is built from the glove, a genealogist builds a family tree working outward from partial matches in consumer databases like GEDmatch or FamilyTreeDNA. You are essentially reconstructing someone’s family history from distant cousins and working your way inward until you can identify a common ancestor and then narrow down to a specific individual. The timeline depends on a few variables," he said.
Pack said the time it takes to complete investigative genetic genealogy depends on several factors, such as the number of relatives who have submitted consumer DNA tests and how clean a DNA sample is.
The less participation in commercial DNA testing by a suspect's family, Pack says, the more time the process takes.
A spokesperson for Othram, which conducts investigative genetic genealogy, told Fox News Digital that the amount of time needed to find a match depends on several factors, but it could be done in a fairly quick process.
"It took 48 hours for Kohberger. It took 24 hours to create a profile. Now we've created software to do it faster. Genealogy for the Kohberger case was very quick," the spokesperson said.
This is an excerpt from a report by Adam Sabes and Michael Ruiz
{{#rendered}}Cross-border investigative protocols would come into play in the event Nancy Guthrie crossed into Mexico, even as local authorities say there is no evidence she was taken south of the border, a retired FBI agent has said.
"When any disappearance occurs near the international border, certain federal protocols activate almost automatically, regardless of whether there’s confirmed evidence the victim crossed," retired FBI agent Jason Pack told Fox News Digital.
According to Pack, the FBI maintains dedicated Border Liaison Agents along the southern border who coordinate directly with Mexican law enforcement counterparts.
"That coordination happens at the working level, in real time, without waiting for a formal case to develop," he said.
Those agents work alongside the FBI’s Legal Attaché office in Mexico City, which serves as a bridge between FBI Headquarters, the U.S. Embassy and Mexico’s federal attorney general’s office.
A source had confirmed to Fox News Digital that the FBI has reached out to authorities in Mexico in connection with the Guthrie case.
Fox News has also learned that it is standard practice for federal investigators to coordinate with Mexican counterparts in cases occurring so close to the border.
Despite that outreach, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told Fox News National correspondent Jonathan Hunt on Tuesday that authorities do not believe Guthrie was taken into Mexico.
Pack stressed that Sheriff Nanos is being "accurate and responsible" in stating there is no indication Guthrie was taken into Mexico.
However, Pack underscored an important investigative distinction.
"From an investigative standpoint, the absence of evidence is not the same as evidence of absence," Pack said.
"Border protocols don’t require a confirmed lead. They require geographic proximity and a missing person. Both boxes are checked here."
Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
Fox News confirmed on Wednesday that polygraph tests were being conducted at the Pima County Sheriff's Office.
Sheriff Chris Nanos later clarified to Fox News that the tests were being conducted for new hires, and were not related to the Nancy Guthrie case.
Fox News' Matt Finn contributed to this report.
Officers were seen leaving Nancy Guthrie’s residence Wednesday afternoon in photos captured by Fox News Digital.
The images show three police vehicles leaving as authorities continue investigating the 84-year-old’s disappearance.
Guthrie vanished from her Tucson, Arizona, home 18 days ago. The ongoing activity at her home indicates that the investigation remains active there.
{{#rendered}}The FBI has reached out to authorities in Mexico in relation to the Nancy Guthrie case, a source confirmed to Fox News Digital.
Despite this development, on Tuesday, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told Fox News National correspondent Jonathan Hunt authorities do not believe Guthrie was taken to Mexico.
Fox News has also learned that it is standard practice for federal investigators to coordinate with their Mexican counterparts, particularly in cases happening so close to the border.
The FBI has updated its Missing Person poster in the search for Nancy Guthrie to reflect an increased $100,000 reward for information leading to the "arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance."
"The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Phoenix Field Office and the Pima County Sheriff's Department in Arizona are investigating the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, last seen at her residence in the Catalina Foothills neighborhood of Tucson, Arizona," the poster reads.
"The images above show an armed individual appearing to have tampered with the camera at Nancy Guthrie's front door the morning of her disappearance. The suspect is described as a male, approximately 5’9” to 5’10”, with an average build. In the video, he is wearing a black, 25-liter ‘Ozark Trail Hiker Pack’ backpack. The FBI seeks information that will lead to the identity of this individual," it added.
Fox News correspondent Matt Finn pointed out Wednesday that despite being weeks into the search for Nancy Guthrie, “the public has not been asked to look out for any type of car.”
“Reminder, Tucson says it does not have traffic cameras that record. Pima County says it does have cameras but they're not always crystal clear. Of course, look at Nancy's Nest cam -- if Feds want video of a car they may just find it, but in general NO description of ANY car in this day and age with cameras everywhere seems remarkable,” Finn wrote on X.
Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of NBC “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, disappeared from her home in Tucson, Arizona, 18 days ago.
The FBI has released video and images of a masked individual outside Guthrie's home the day she disappeared.
{{#rendered}}Former FBI special agent Stuart Kaplan told “The Ingraham Angle” that he believes the FBI is in a “deep dive in forensic analysis” in the Nancy Guthrie case.
“It's what the FBI is not telling us. I know my agency. I can tell you that they are in a deep dive in forensic analysis. I think they are very concerned about protecting very sensitive techniques that have been deployed in this particular case,” Kaplan said. “I think they are concerned about avoiding jeopardizing future prosecutions because quite frankly, they don't want those techniques, those sensitive forensic techniques that have in fact been utilized in this case to be known or published to the public.”
“I will even go as far as saying, Laura, when I see my agency go dark or go silent, I do believe that they have a person or persons of interest,” Kaplan told Fox News' Laura Ingraham. “I think they are sifting through the analysis. I've said it time and time again. I think they are concerned about getting the right person.”
“I think they are exercising a measured approach. But let me tell you, the FBI is disciplined,” Kaplan also said. “This is the best FBI on the planet. They're doing what they're tasked to do. They're staying on point.”
Yellow flowers are now being prominently featured on the set of NBC's "Today" show, drawing comparisons to the scene outside of Nancy Guthrie's home in Tucson.
Images captured in recent days showed locals placing yellow flowers near the mailbox on Nancy Guthrie's property.
Casas Adobes Flower Shop owner Matt Biggs told "Today" that the yellow flowers are "typically a sign of hope and support, versus other colors that might be more sympathetic."
A group of locals in Tucson, Arizona, who gather for coffee daily told "FOX & Friends Weekend" co-host Griff Jenkins on Wednesday that their community is shaken following Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance.
“Tucson is a very tight community and a very secure community and this has rattled quite a few people, to be honest, because this type of crime and this type of notoriety that we are getting nationally is just not what we are used to here,” a resident named Jim said. “It’s put a cloud on things and we are sorry to see the national news we have gotten for such an unfortunate thing for Savannah and her family and everybody is praying that everybody gets their act together and they find this guy and return Nancy safe and sound.”
Jenkins said Nancy has been known to come to a coffee shop where the locals were gathered Wednesday.
Another resident, Terry, told Fox News that “People are worried about their safety.”
“A lot of elderly people live in this area, they are by themselves, like Mrs. Guthrie,” he said. “A lot of people are locking their doors now, that didn’t before.”
One resident, Mary, added, “I lived in this community a long time, raised my children here, and I’ve always felt safe and secure, and suddenly that has gone away and now I am being more vigilant about my surroundings and locking my doors and I truly empathize with her family, I think it’s awful, I can’t imagine having to live through this and not knowing where my mother was, that is just unthinkable to me.”
{{#rendered}}Former FBI special agent John Iannarelli told “Fox & Friends First” on Wednesday that investigators still have options to examine DNA evidence following the lack of a match in the FBI database.
DNA found on a glove near Nancy Guthrie's home as well as inside her residence didn't produce a match in the FBI database known as the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said to Fox News a day earlier.
"The fact that the information is not in CODIS is not the end of the road. As you discussed, there's been a lot of ways DNA has been developed through the other systems out there. The 23andMe, Ancestry,” Iannarelli said. “Any person related to that individual who left their DNA behind at Nancy Guthrie's home, if they've ever taken that test, that DNA evidence is going to be out there and it will link them to other relatives. It's just a matter of finding, is there any sort of connection? That's what the FBI and the Sheriff's Department are doing right now.”
When asked how long it can take to retrieve that information, Iannarelli said, “it can be a fairly quick process because the DNA has already been tested and it's in the system.
“Now, no one just gives information away. They have to get a court order. They have get the agency that has the information to cooperate, but in this case, everybody seems to want to assist in any way they can,” he added. “I imagine we're going to see a fairly quick turnaround. We might even hear something within the next 24 or 48 hours.”
An Arizona gun store owner says an FBI agent asked him to review recent firearm purchases tied to a list of nearly two dozen people, as the search for Nancy Guthrie continues into a third week.
Phillip Martin, co-owner of Armor Bearer Arms in Tucson, told Fox News’ Amalia Roy that an FBI agent visited his store with three pages of approximately 18 to 24 individuals with corresponding photos and names.
The agent, Martin said, asked to check whether any of those people had purchased a firearm from his store within the past year.
"He actually had given me a list of paper, list of people that had pictures and names on it, and he wanted to know if I could help him pull up in my system if any of these people have purchased a gun in the last year," Martin said.
Martin said he initially questioned the request but ultimately agreed to help out of concern for Guthrie’s family.
"I felt bad for the family. Anything that could help them find the person I was willing to help," he said.
Martin said he entered each last name into his store’s electronic records system, which would display identifying information if the individual had made a purchase. He said none of the names returned a match for firearm purchases within the past year.
DNA found on a glove near Nancy Guthrie's home as well as inside her residence didn't produce a match in an FBI database, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said.
During an interview with Fox News, Nanos revealed that DNA recovered from her home didn't match any records found in the FBI database known as the Combined DNA Index System. DNA found on the glove also didn't match any records found in the system, he said. Nanos said that DNA found on the glove was different from DNA that was found inside Guthrie's home.
Guthrie was forcibly taken from her Tucson, Arizona home in the early morning hours of February 1 and didn't leave on her own, Nanos said.
"We're hopeful that we're always getting closer, but the news now, I think, is we had heard this morning that, of course, the DNA on the glove that was found two miles away was submitted for CODIS. And I just heard that CODIS had no hits," Nanos said.
While DNA found inside Guthrie's home and on a glove near her residence didn't produce a hit in the FBI's database, the Pima County Sheriff's Office said in an X post that DNA found at her property is still being analyzed.
Fox News Digital's Adam Sabes contributed to this report.
{{#rendered}}Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said the Nancy Guthrie case is far from being cold, stressing that it will not be considered cold as long as there are leads to pursue.
The sheriff said 400 investigators continue to work on thousands of tips and leads, according to NBC News.
"As long as we have the ability to chase a lead, it’s not cold," Nanos said on Tuesday, according to the outlet.
'We're not going to give up. We're going to find Nancy, and we're going to find out who did this," he added.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos on Tuesday made a plea to the suspect in Nancy Guthrie's kidnapping, urging the individual to "just let her go."
"Just let her go. It will work out better for you in the long run," Nanos said, according to Fox 10. "Take her to a park. Take her to the hospital. Just let her go."
The sheriff also appeared to remain optimistic, saying the investigation continues to be a rescue operation and not a recovery mission.
"You have no proof, nobody does, that she’s not [alive]," Nanos said. "I’m going to have that faith. Sometimes that hope is all we have."
When asked when the mission might turn into a recovery effort, Nanos said 400 investigators are remain in the field pursuing leads.
"My team, 400 people out there in the field today, woke up this morning and went out there with the hope and the belief that they’re going to find Nancy, and she's going to be okay," Nanos said.
Coverage for this event has ended.