‘It’s never too late’: Savannah Guthrie’s new plea for mother’s release as FBI analyses glove
Savannah Guthrie has issued a plea for her 84-year-old mother’s release two weeks after she disappeared, urging anyone involved that “it is never too late to do the right thing”.
In the US TV anchor’s latest video appeal, she addresses “whoever has her, or knows where she is”, adding that Nancy Guthrie’s loved ones “still have hope”.
It comes as investigators analyse DNA found on a glove that appears to match one a suspect was wearing in doorbell camera footage taken the night Nancy Guthrie went missing.
Authorities believe the suspect in the video kidnapped Guthrie in the early hours of the morning of 1 February.
The FBI said on Sunday that investigators recovered the glove from a field near the side of the road about two miles from Guthrie’s home in Tucson, Arizona.
The agency collected about 16 gloves from various locations near her home, though most turned out to have been discarded by people searching for her.
“The one with the DNA profile recovered is different and appears to match the gloves of the subject in the surveillance video,” the FBI said.
The agency said it has received preliminary DNA test results on the glove and is still waiting for “quality control and official confirmation” before entering an “unknown male profile” into its database.
Earlier this week, investigators released footage from a doorbell camera at Guthrie’s front door that shows a masked man wearing gloves and a backpack.
In the video, the suspect walks toward the camera and tries to cover it with his gloved hand before grabbing some brush from the front yard to block the camera’s view.
After conducting a forensic analysis of the video, the FBI announced earlier this week that it believed the man was between 5ft 9in and 5ft 10in (175-177cm) tall with an average build.
The FBI also highlighted the backpack the suspect was wearing in the video, identifying it as a 25-litre Ozark Trail Hiker Pack.
The county sheriff’s department has said the suspect description “remains a key focus”, but added that “investigators are not ruling out any individuals or possibilities”.
Guthrie was last seen on 31 January, when a family member dropped her off at her home following a get-together at her daughter Annie’s house.
Members of her church noticed her absence the following day and notified her family.
In the two weeks since Guthrie’s disappearance, the FBI and Pima County Sheriff’s Office have conducted a massive search operation involving helicopters, sniffer dogs and hundreds of officers while taking in thousands of call-in tips.
Officials have warned that she may be in dire health without her medication. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said Guthrie was “not in good physical health” but had no reported cognitive issues.
Local officials have also said investigators found DNA at Guthrie’s address that did not belong to her or anyone close to her.
The FBI has increased the reward for information about Guthrie’s disappearance from $50,000 (£36,700) to $100,000.
