The FBI is analyzing DNA from a glove found near the home of Nancy Guthrie, mother of American television presenter Savannah Guthrie. The glove appears to be a match for one worn by the suspect seen in doorbell camera footage the morning the 84-year-old disappeared.
Authorities are comparing the DNA to the FBI’s national database — a process that the agency says could take about 24 hours.
Nancy Guthrie was reported missing on February 1st in Arizona.
About two miles from Guthrie’s home, in a field near the road, the FBI said. Preliminary results from a private laboratory in Florida have been received and investigators said they are “awaiting quality control and official confirmation” of the results before analyzing them in their proprietary database.
This is not the same glove previously photographed by the New York Post.
How quickly answers are obtained will depend on the type and quality of the DNA sample collected — whether complete DNA or contact DNA, a former police chief explained to CNN.
“Full DNA” refers to types like blood and saliva, while “contact DNA” refers to the genetic material left behind by the skin. Even a small DNA sample can be analyzed and used to link a possible suspect to the crime scene, he said.
Authorities will also likely submit the evidence to third-party DNA mapping services offered to the public, as part of a growing field known as investigative genetic genealogy.
Even if a suspect has never used one of these services, a family member may have done so, providing clues to the suspect’s identity.
The glove is one of “approximately 16” that investigators found near Guthrie’s home, most of which the FBI said belonged to first responders who discarded them while working in the area.
Investigators are working to forensically analyze several pieces of evidence, including the gloves.
In another case, forensic teams discovered DNA in Guthrie’s home that authorities said did not match hers or anyone in her close circle.
It is unclear whether this DNA is a match to that found on the glove.
