Hair evidence yields no suspect in Nancy Guthrie disappearance

Forensic testing on hair found at Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson, Arizona, home has not identified a suspect, authorities said, as the search for the missing 84-year-old mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie reaches the six-month mark.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told CBS News on Thursday that the hair sample “came back with no results.” His department said the findings were verified in early June but were made public for the first time Thursday. The FBI’s Phoenix office also said in a brief statement that “all hair had been resolved and it does not point to a suspect” in the investigation, NBC News reported.

Nanos told NBC News the hair had no DNA on it. “To find DNA on hair is extremely rare,” he said. “Hair doesn’t produce DNA like touch DNA or bodily fluids.”

The sheriff said other evidence collected at the scene, including blood and DNA, remains under analysis but has not produced results so far. “I know that there was blood at the scene and so that was also part of the processing of the scene,” Nanos told CBS News. “We have a lot of DNA that is being looked at by credible scientists around the country who know and understand what they have in front of them and they understand the rules that they have to play by.”

CBS News previously reported that a DNA sample sent by sheriff’s detectives to a private laboratory in Florida was forwarded to the FBI’s crime lab in Quantico, Virginia. Officials did not confirm whether that sample was the hair found at Guthrie’s home.

Nancy Guthrie was last seen on the evening of Jan. 31 after she was dropped off following dinner at the home of her daughter Annie. Security video from her home showed a suspect at her front door in the early morning hours of Feb. 1. Investigators have said they believe she was likely abducted.

Federal authorities have described the case as a kidnapping-for-ransom investigation. The FBI said in a July 1 statement that it had received several ransom notes since Guthrie was reported missing Feb. 1, including some that may be legitimate. Others were described as illegitimate extortion attempts. The bureau said it is still investigating some of the demands.

Nanos told CBS News that at least two ransom notes were sent in the days after Guthrie disappeared. He also said no new video has been recovered beyond the surveillance footage released earlier in the investigation, and that the suspect or suspects appear to have avoided traffic cameras.

Asked whether the suspect or suspects could be local to the Tucson area, Nanos said, “absolutely,” while adding that he did not have evidence proving it. “But let’s look at crime across the country, around the world, who by far, 90%, 95% of your criminals are where? Right here locally,” he said.

On Monday, Savannah Guthrie posted a video on social media addressing the person or people who may have taken her mother. “So I’m asking you, begging you to do the right thing now,” she said. “Make the right choice. Help us find her. Tell us where to look for her. I truly believe it is never too late to do the right thing.”

Nanos also responded to criticism previously made by FBI Director Kash Patel, who claimed the sheriff’s department was slow to involve the FBI. “I’ve never talked to him,” Nanos said of Patel. “No, I have no reason to. If I needed him, I’m sure I could talk to him. What I need is to know that his team and my team are working close together and that absolutely they are and they have been for decades.”

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said Thursday that the investigation remains active and ongoing. Nanos told CBS News he remains optimistic the case will be resolved “based on all the evidence before me.”

“Even when a case goes cold, we don’t give up on it,” he said. “We continue to work it. This one’s far from being cold. God forbid this ever takes 50 years, but it could.”