Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos is detailing the latest challenge in the ongoing search for Savannah Guthrie’s missing mom, Nancy Guthrie.
“Our lab tells us there’s challenges with it,” Nanos told NBC News correspondent Erin McLaughlin in a new sit-down interview on Friday, February 20, detailing how the DNA found inside Nancy’s home is “mixed.”
According to the law enforcement officer, having “mixed” DNA means the sample contains DNA from more than one person, making it difficult to run through national databases.
“The technology is moving so fast and it’s such a frenzy that they think some of this stuff will resolve itself just in a matter of weeks, months or maybe a year,” Nanos continued.`
Authorities confirmed on February 13 that “DNA other than Nancy Guthrie’s and those in close contact to her” was discovered in her Arizona home.
“Investigators are working to identify who it belongs to,” a statement shared with multiple media outlets read at the time. “We are not disclosing where that DNA was located.”
Nancy was first reported missing on February 1 after the 84-year-old failed to meet up with friends to attend a virtual church service. Authorities have not identified a person of interest or suspect in the matriarch’s ongoing disappearance, though investigators did rule out Savannah, her brother Camron, her sister Annie and their family members as possible suspects.
“Not one single person in the family is a suspect,” Nanos told KOLD 12 News on February 16. “So I am telling everyone, effective today, you guys [media] need to knock it off, quit. People are hurting. They are victims. I am saying they are clear. We have cleared them.”
On February 12, the FBI released an official description of a potential subject in the case after security camera footage showed a masked individual attempting to disable Nancy’s front door camera.
The subject is “a male, approximately 5’9’’ – 5’10’’ tall, with an average build. In [a newly-obtained security] video, he is wearing a black, 25-liter ‘Ozark Trail Hiker Pack’ backpack.” Officials confirmed they had received 12,000 tips from the public related to Nancy’s disappearance and were doubling the reward from $50,000 to $100,000 for any information that results in her rescue or recovery.
On Friday, Nanos admitted that the investigation is “not going fast enough.”
“It’s never fast enough for the sheriff,” he said. “I want it like you — come on guys, let’s go, let’s go, let’s find her. But the reality is that I also know that sometimes things take time.”
Despite Nanos admitting that there are “no names” authorities are currently looking into in connection with Nancy’s disappearance, he believes that they’re “getting closer” to finding her and her alleged kidnappers.
“In terms of leads and working and getting out there, I think that [the investigation] is still growing, yeah,” he explained. “I think we’re getting closer to identifying some of the other articles, not just that backpack — like the shoes, the pants, the shirt or jacket.”
When asked if he had a message for Nancy’s family as authorities continue their search, Nanos said: “We’re not quitting. We will find her. Yeah.”
