TRUE CRIME NEWSNancy Guthrie Investigation Could Receive Help From Lab That Helped Crack Gilgo Beach Serial Killer Case, Claims Genetic Genealogist
'Today' star Savannah Guthrie's mom has been missing for more than two months.
April 21 2026, Published 11:21 a.m. ET
The San Fransisco forensics lab that led Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann to plead guilty earlier this month could be used to potentially crack the Nancy Guthrie case.
In court on April 8, Heuermann, 62, confessed to strangling eight women after it was determined that rootless hair samples linked him to the crimes that long haunted Long Island, N.Y.
"I am pretty confident that they will want to use the lab that they have been extremely successful with, which is Astrea," CeCe Moore, leading genetic genealogist at Parabon Nanolabs in Virginia, told a news outlet.
Astrea was able to build a DNA profile from rootless hair evidence in the Gilgo Beach case.
A hair sample found inside Nancy's Tucson, Ariz., home, where the 84-year-old was allegedly abducted from on February 1, is reportedly being reexamined by the FBI after initially being sent to a lab in Florida.
Referring to the Florida lab, DNA Labs International, Moore told Fox News Digital: "DLI has been working to refine their own rootless hair analysis, but I haven't seen any successful cases from them yet."
The expert said the FBI has "a lot of confidence in Astrea," especially after it developed a DNA profile from rootless hair evidence in the Heuermann case.
'This Is Not New Evidence'
The hair sample found at Nancy Guthrie's home was originally sent to a private lab in Florida.
"Sending it to Astrea, where there is a proven track record, is by far the safest option," Moore added.
Meanwhile, FBI Assistant Director of Public Affairs Ben Williamson said on Monday, April 20, that the FBI has wanted the sample for months.
"This is not new evidence or information," he wrote on X. "FBI asked to test this DNA 2 months ago with the same technology we’ve always had — when the local sheriff instead sent it to a private lab. Any further developments we will share as soon as appropriate."
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Nancy Guthrie's Blood Was Found at the Scene
Investigators believe the 84-year-old is the victim of a targeted kidnapping.
As OK! reported less than two weeks into the search for Guthrie, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos was said to have blocked the FBI from accessing key evidence in the investigation.
The FBI now analyzing the evidence could potentially lead to a breakthrough in the case that has taken the world by storm for over two months.
Today star Savannah Guthrie's elderly mother was last seen at her secluded desert home in the Tucson area on January 31. Blood found at the scene was confirmed to be hers.
The motive in the suspected kidnapping is unclear at this point.
The FBI also released security footage of a terrifying masked man on her front porch around the time she went missing just hours after having dinner with family.
Investigators believe the NBC anchor's mom is the victim of a targeted kidnapping, but have been withholding what they think the abductor's motive was.
