As the investigation into the abduction of Nancy Guthrie entered its third week, authorities await key DNA evidence, President Trump threatened the abductors and daughter Savannah Guthrie urged her mother’s kidnappers to “do the right thing.” But with no sign of the 84-year-old, there growing concerns about her welfare and questions about how long the investigation will drag on.
On Sunday, the FBI said DNA was found on a glove discovered several miles away from Guthrie’s home, and the glove matched those worn by a masked person seen outside the home.
This could prove a key development in an investigation beset by false starts and stops. No suspects have been named, and local authorities have come under scrutiny over the lack or progress and certain tactical decisions. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos of Pima County told CBS News that investigators believe the clothing and face mask worn by the suspect were purchased at a Walmart.
Savannah Guthrie issued a statement on Instagram Sunday pleading with the kidnappers.
“And I wanted to say to whoever has her or knows where she is that it’s never too late, and you’re not lost or alone, and it is never too late to do the right thing,” she said. “We are here and we believe, and we believe in the essential goodness of every human being, and it’s never too late.”
Nancy Guthrie was abducted from her Tuscon home Feb. 1. The kidnapping drama has captivated the nation but until now there have been relatively few leads.
Investigators got their first major break in the case Tuesday with the release of footage showing an armed man wearing a balaclava, gloves and a backpack. The man was seen approaching the front door of Guthrie’s home and tampering with a Nest camera at 1:47 a.m. the night she was abducted.
On Tuesday, authorities detained a man at a traffic stop in Rio Rico, a semirural community about 12 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border, in connection with the investigation. Deputies and FBI forensics experts and agents searched his family’s home overnight but did not locate Guthrie. The man was released hours later and has denied any involvement in her disappearance. The Times is not naming him because he has not been arrested or accused of a crime.
Authorities served a search warrant at a home in Tucson on Friday night in connection with the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie but made no arrests.
President Trump on Monday told the New York Post that the kidnappers would face “very, very severe — the most severe” punishment. When asked if he was referring to the death penalty, the president said: “The most, yeah — that’s true.”
Nancy Guthrie was discovered missing Feb. 1 after she didn’t show up to a friend’s house to watch a church service. She was taken from her home without her heart medication, and it’s unclear how long she can survive without it.
A day after Guthrie disappeared, news outlets received identical ransom notes that investigators treated as legitimate.
Sources told The Times that authorities have no proof the person who authored the ransom notes has Guthrie. But they also said the Feb. 2 note felt credible because it included details about a specific damaged piece of property and the placement of an accessory in the home that had not been made public.
Richard Winton
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