Nancy Guthrie Case: Investigators Should Return to Arizona Home in Bid to Recover More DNA Samples

Genetic genealogist CeCe Moore advised investigators to return to Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson, Ariz., home to collect more DNA samples.

Nancy, the 84-year-old mother of Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, was kidnapped from her home on January 31. Despite receiving over 40,000 tips, authorities have yet to name a suspect.

CeCe, widely credited with pioneering the field of forensic genetic genealogy to solve cold cases, believes that even if previous samples were "mixed," as described by Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos in February, or were inconclusive, modern forensic technology — specifically new DNA deconvolution tools and whole-genome sequencing — could isolate the perpetrator’s genetic profile from complex mixtures.

CeCe suggested that investigators re-swab specific areas, such as doorknobs, where even a tiny amount of "transfer DNA" or saliva might have been left behind.

“I think there are a lot of efforts to be able to improve our ability (to deconvolute DNA samples) because we run into that so often with sexual assaults, or as the technology becomes more sensitive with transfer DNA, the ability to detect the tiniest amount of DNA that someone leaves behind really increases the likelihood you’re going to get a mixture, right? Like on a doorknob, for instance,” CeCe told NewsNation’s Brian Entin.

She noted that recent technological advancements now allow experts to solve cases using just a single rootless hair, which might still be present at the scene.

The initial DNA found at the home was identified as a mixture of genetic material from multiple people. CeCe believes specialized software is being "fast-tracked" specifically to help separate these samples for this high-profile case.

“I don’t know the proportions in that mixture. It depends how many people are in it and what the percentages of those profiles are and which one is the perpetrator. … But without knowing specifically what this mixture is, it’s hard for me to predict. I still believe that there has to be the perpetrator or perpetrators’ DNA at that crime scene,” she added.

CeCe also emphasized that finding a second location — such as a vehicle or a place where Nancy might have been held — would be another critical opportunity to find unmixed DNA from the kidnapper.

As perplexing as the case has been, CeCe says she remains hopeful of a breakthrough.

“If they have not been successful in finding a good source of his DNA at Nancy’s home, my hope is they’ll get another chance. Now, the really sad part of that is if they find her body, if she’s deceased, that gives them another opportunity. And so I don’t think it’s the end,” she said.