Two weeks have passed since 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie vanished from her Tucson home, and her daughter Savannah Guthrie is making another heartfelt plea to whoever might be responsible. The Today Show anchor’s message is simple but devastating: “it is never too late to do the right thing.”
There’s something particularly cruel about a case like this. An elderly woman, already in fragile health, disappearing in the middle of the night while her family desperately searches for answers. The FBI and Pima County Sheriff’s Office have thrown everything at this investigation with helicopters, sniffer dogs, and hundreds of officers combing through the Arizona desert looking for any trace of Nancy.
A Breakthrough in the Investigation
The real development here is what investigators found roughly two miles from Nancy’s home. A single glove recovered from a field near the roadside appears to match the ones worn by a suspect caught on doorbell camera footage the night she disappeared. Out of 16 gloves collected from various locations, most turned out to be from well-meaning searchers. This one is different.
The FBI says preliminary DNA results show an unknown male profile, though they’re waiting for quality control and official confirmation before entering it into their database. It’s the kind of forensic detail that might crack this case wide open, assuming the DNA matches someone already in the system or leads to a viable suspect.
What the Doorbell Camera Revealed
The surveillance footage is genuinely unsettling. A masked man wearing gloves and carrying a 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack walks straight up to Nancy’s front door and deliberately covers the camera with his gloved hand. When that doesn’t work, he grabs brush from the front yard to block the view entirely. This wasn’t some random act. This person knew what they were doing.
Through forensic analysis, the FBI determined the suspect stands between 5’9” and 5’10” with an average build. These details matter when you’re trying to identify someone from grainy nighttime footage, but they also describe a significant portion of the male population. Still, combined with the backpack and the DNA evidence, investigators might actually have something to work with.
The sheriff’s department is keeping their options open, saying they’re “not ruling out any individuals or possibilities” despite the suspect description being a key focus. That’s standard procedure in news investigations like this, but it also suggests they might be looking at multiple angles.
The Timeline and Health Concerns
Nancy was last seen on January 31st when a family member dropped her off after a gathering at her daughter Annie’s house. The next day, members of her church noticed she wasn’t there and contacted the family. That’s when everyone realized something was terribly wrong.
Here’s where this gets even more urgent. Officials have warned that Nancy may be in dire health without her medication. Sheriff Chris Nanos stated she was “not in good physical health” though she had no cognitive issues. Two weeks without proper medication for an 84-year-old woman? The window for a positive outcome gets narrower by the day.
Authorities executed a search warrant at a residence two miles from Nancy’s home on Friday but made no arrests. They’ve also found DNA at her address that doesn’t belong to her or anyone in her immediate circle, adding another layer to this increasingly complex investigation.
Following the Evidence Trail
The FBI has doubled their reward from $50,000 to $100,000 for information leading to Nancy’s whereabouts. That kind of money tends to shake loose information from people who might otherwise stay quiet. Someone out there knows something, whether it’s the person responsible or someone who saw something suspicious that night.
What strikes me about this case is how methodical the suspect appears in that doorbell footage. This wasn’t a crime of opportunity or a panicked moment. Someone planned this, brought tools, knew about the camera, and took steps to hide their identity. That level of premeditation makes you wonder about motive. Why target an elderly woman in poor health?
Savannah’s latest video appeal speaks directly to “whoever has her, or knows where she is,” emphasizing that her mother’s loved ones “still have hope.” It’s the kind of statement that requires immense strength to make publicly when you’re probably falling apart privately. The waiting must be absolute torture for the family, watching investigators methodically process evidence while their mother and grandmother remains missing.
The investigation continues with thousands of tips pouring in, but ultimately this case may come down to that single glove and the DNA profile it contains. Sometimes crime cases hinge on the smallest pieces of evidence, the things a perpetrator doesn’t even realize they’ve left behind.
