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TUCSON, Ariz. — Investigators couldn’t obtain a DNA profile from a hair sample recovered inside Nancy Guthrie’s home, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told Digital in a new interview Thursday as the case nears its six-month mark.
“Yes, there was a hair. We had it and thought, ‘OK, well, we’ll do the DNA first,’ right? You’re going to do DNA before something else,” he explained.
Working with the FBI, investigators sent the sample to a California laboratory for additional DNA testing.
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This image released by the FBI shows an armed individual appearing to have tampered with the camera at Nancy Guthrie’s front door the morning of her disappearance in Tucson, Ariz., Feb. 1, 2026. At right is an undated photo of Nancy Guthrie provided by NBC in response to the disappearance of the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie. (Provided by FBI; Courtesy of NBC)
“It came back … there’s no DNA,” Nanos said. “But does that mean the hair isn’t that of the suspect? We won’t know that till we have the suspect’s hair. You don’t just destroy it.”
Investigators have preserved the sample, and it still may be of use later, he added.
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This image released by the FBI shows an armed individual who appears to have a light emitting from his mouth at Nancy Guthrie’s front door the morning of her disappearance in Tucson, Ariz., Feb. 1, 2026. (Provided by FBI)
“There’s other things that hair may prove valuable for, but right now it was just about, ‘Is there any DNA there?’ And the answer was no,” the sheriff said. “That was just a matter of weeks ago.”
Guthrie is the 84-year-old mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie. She will have been missing for six months on Saturday.
Nanos indicated the hair was only one part of the broader DNA work underway, though he did not specify how many other samples are being tested.
DNA testing remains a priority in the case, and Nanos said investigators continue working with multiple crime labs to analyze evidence collected from the home.
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A tent was placed over the front entrance to Nancy Guthrie’s home in Tucson, Ariz., Feb. 12, 2026. The tent covers where Guthrie’s blood was found. (Fox Flight Team)
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“Anything we can grasp onto with DNA is a part of this investigation,” he said.
That includes investigative genetic genealogy research, which is used to generate leads from a family tree. He noted rapid advances in DNA technology.
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Deputies examine a flyer taped to Nancy Guthrie’s mailbox Feb. 22, 2026. They were called there after volunteer searchers and several streamers walked onto Guthrie’s property with a shovel. (Michael Ruiz/ Digital)
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“That’s really where some of my optimism is, that I just know that we’re gonna get this thing resolved,” Nanos said.
There is a combined reward of more than $1.2 million that remains unclaimed.
“We believe, just as the family does, just as Savannah does, somebody knows something. We need that person to call us.”
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos exits the press room after giving an update on the investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of U.S. journalist and television host Savannah Guthrie, Feb. 5, 2026. (Reuters/Rebecca Noble)
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At least one suspect was recorded by Guthrie’s Nest doorbell camera. According to the FBI, he is between 5 feet, 9 inches and 5 feet, 10 inches tall with a medium build. He was wearing a mask, long sleeves and gloves, and the backpack he carried has been identified as a black Ozark Trail bag.
The family is urging anyone with information to dial 1-800-CALL-FBI.
An anonymous reward can be claimed by calling 520-88-CRIME with information that leads to an arrest.
