Investigators Dig Into Backpack Clue in Nancy Guthrie Case

Authorities confirmed Monday that Nancy Guthrie’s family members are not suspects in her disappearance as the search for the 84-year-old mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie enters its third week. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said all of Guthrie’s relatives, including their spouses, have been cleared, CBS News reports. “The family has been nothing but cooperative and gracious and are victims in this case,” Nanos said, adding that implying otherwise “is not only wrong, it is cruel.”

Nancy Guthrie was reported missing on February 1, and investigators believe she was abducted overnight from her Tucson home. Savannah Guthrie and her siblings, Annie and Camron, have repeatedly appealed for her safe return. In a video posted Sunday on Instagram, Savannah Guthrie addressed whoever may be holding her mother, saying it’s “never too late to do the right thing” and that her children “still have hope” and “still believe.”

Investigators are using specialized technology in the search, including a “signal sniffer” mounted on a helicopter designed to detect signals from Guthrie’s pacemaker. Officials say data from the pacemaker’s app indicate it was disconnected from her phone at 2:28 a.m. the night she vanished.

Security footage from Guthrie’s home shows a masked suspect. The FBI describes the man as about 5’9” to 5’10” with an average build, wearing a black Ozark Trail 25-liter hiking backpack sold exclusively at Walmart. Sheriff Nanos said the face mask also appears to be a Walmart product, and the AP reports that investigators are working with the retailer “to develop leads.” Investigators believe other clothing worn by the suspect may have also been purchased at Walmart.

A glove matching those seen in the video was found roughly two miles from Guthrie’s home and has produced a DNA profile of an unidentified man, which authorities plan to run through the FBI’s CODIS database once results are confirmed. Additional DNA not belonging to Guthrie or her close contacts was also collected from her property, though officials have not revealed the location. Since her disappearance, authorities say they have received between 40,000 and 50,000 tips, according to NBC News.

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