The disappearance of Nancy Guthrie has left investigators searching for answers. Guthrie, the mother of Savannah Guthrie, went missing from her home under mysterious circumstances. Although authorities feared the worst, hope remained. Last week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced a reward of up to $100,000 for information related to her disappearance.
According to NBC News, as of Thursday, the agency had received about 13,000 tips in connection with the case. On Monday, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told KVOA that officials have now received between 40,000 and 50,000 tips combined by the FBI and the sheriff’s department.
As officials await DNA results from inside her home in Tucson and from a nearby glove, her family has been cleared as suspects. The update comes more than two weeks after Guthrie first went missing.
When asked why the family needed to be cleared, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos explained that he felt it was his duty to do so. He told NBC News, “Because sometimes we forget we’re human and we hurt, and kindness matters. It is every cop’s duty to stand up and be that voice for our victims. I’m not going to sit in silence when others are attacking the innocent. Isn’t that what the badge represents?”
He added that Nancy Guthrie’s family has been “nothing but cooperative and gracious” and “are victims in this case.” Nanos said, “To suggest otherwise is not only wrong, it is cruel. The Guthrie family are victims, plain and simple.”
The breakthrough in the case came after authorities discovered a glove containing DNA evidence about 2 miles from Nancy’s residence. According to a source involved in the investigation, the glove resembled the one worn by the person who appeared on Guthrie’s Ring doorbell camera.
However, CeCe Moore, a genealogist with Parabon NanoLabs, warned that it was still too early to determine whether the glove would be key evidence in the case.
“I think we need to use a lot of caution about jumping to conclusions with the glove,” said the DNA expert. “If there were other aspects of that glove that tied it to Nancy or somebody that’s already been looked at as a person of interest, then it would rise very quickly in priority. But at this point, it’s more like a hail Mary,” Moore added.
As the investigation goes on, support from all over the U.S. pours in for Savannah Guthrie and her family.