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Investigators are analyzing DNA evidence recovered from the Tucson home of missing 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, sending it to a Phoenix laboratory as part of the ongoing investigation, authorities said Wednesday.
The biological samples were among items collected from Guthrie’s residence in the Catalina Foothills area north of Tucson, which law enforcement has treated as a crime scene in the search for the mother of “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie.
Law enforcement has not disclosed when DNA testing results might be available. Authorities said it could take months or even years to identify someone through DNA testing, but the method is very effective.
“Basically, what you’re trying to isolate is, A, is that her DNA, and B, is there a mixture or any foreign DNA that would indicate the perpetrator may have been injured while taking her,” Troy Hillman, a former homicide sergeant with Phoenix police, told 12News.
Hillman, who spent 20-odd years solving homicide cases that had gone cold, also noted that investigators can push urgent cases to the front of the line.
“Absolutely — especially when we believe she could still be alive and time is of the essence,” He said. “I think she needs her medication.”
Investigators have said Guthrie requires daily medication and has limited mobility, heightening concern for her welfare.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said the scene showed signs of forced entry, and officials believe Guthrie was taken from the home against her will between Saturday night and early Sunday morning.
“That tells me she was basically startled and taken very quickly out of the home,” Nanos said, per 12News.
Authorities have not identified any suspects or persons of interest, and they continue to work with the FBI and other agencies.
The DNA evidence is being tested in Phoenix for possible matches that could help clarify what happened, sheriff’s office representatives said. No results have been released publicly.
Hillman notes that similar cases he has worked on in the past often involved someone familiar to the victim and were sometimes driven by financial motives.
“It was a missing vulnerable adult case,” Hillman recalled of one investigation, according to the outlet. “Later, we found she had been murdered brutally. It turned out to be a landscaper who worked for her. Sometimes it’s money.”
He also said that, based on information that has been made public so far, he believes the crime was not random.
“It’s hard to say whether it was random or targeted,” he said. “In my opinion, it may have looked a little more targeted.”
Nanos, meanwhile, has been tight-lipped about releasing any details of the investigation.
“You want to keep the public informed and get tips coming in,” Hillman said. “But you don’t want to give away everything, because that information can work its way into bad circles and take away from the investigation.”
The FBI is assisting Pima County in its investigation, 12News reported.
Savannah Guthrie has publicly appealed for support and prayers for her mother’s safe return, and authorities have encouraged the public to provide tips or information that might aid the investigation.
The search entered its fourth day as law enforcement maintained perimeter security around the home and continued to process physical and forensic evidence.
Earlier this week, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said that Nancy, 84, was last seen at her home in Tucson around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday. Nanos said on Monday that “we do, in fact, have a crime,” but he didn’t go into detail about the circumstances of her disappearance.
Nanos told reporters on Tuesday that the search for Nancy was going slowly. The NBC “Today” show said on Wednesday that police don’t have any solid leads or suspects.
“We don’t know where she is,” Nanos said, adding that investigators are starting from the point where Nancy Guthrie was last seen and fanning out from there.
