Nine months after Nancy Guthrie kidnapping: investigators go to Florida over DNA analysis, sheriff's office says

The Pima County Sheriff's Department in the US state of Arizona gave a new update on Friday in the Nancy Guthrie missing person case. The department said it continues to work with the Nancy Guthrie Task Force on DNA analysis in an effort to advance the case.

In a post on X, the department wrote, "Earlier this month, investigators traveled to Florida to meet with lab scientists to see what more could be done to advance this case. A number of ideas were discussed, and we continue to work with all our partners to solve this case."

The law enforcement agency reminded the public that no tip is too small. "Even the smallest piece of information could be critical to this investigation," the department said.

Nancy Guthrie is the mother of NBC journalist Savannah Guthrie. She was kidnapped from her home in Tucson, Arizona, on 1 February. The 84-year-old was last seen shortly before 10 p.m. local time on 31 January, after a relative dropped her off at her home in Tucson's Catalina Foothills neighbourhood.

Authorities have still not identified a suspect or person of interest in her disappearance, despite a masked man appearing on Guthrie's Ring doorbell camera. In the days following her disappearance, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos confirmed at a news briefing that she was taken, telling reporters, "She did not leave on her own. We know that."

Authorities previously released two ransom notes related to Guthrie's kidnapping in July. The first, sent on 2 February, reported that Guthrie was unharmed and demanded that 4 million dollars in cryptocurrency be sent to her captors to secure her release. The second, sent four days later on 6 February, said Guthrie had died shortly after she was kidnapped.

When releasing the notes in late July, authorities noted they were written in a unique writing style, and asked anyone who recognises the patterns to share information with the Pima County Sheriff's Department and the FBI.

Late last month, investigators said they had been made aware of a possible new ransom note in relation to Guthrie's disappearance. In an X post in late September, the department wrote, "The PCSD/FBI Guthrie Task Force was recently made aware of a new possible ransom note related to the Nancy Guthrie investigation." The post added that investigators were also aware of social media comments regarding the note and were looking further into the information to determine its credibility.

Anyone with information has been asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI, or, to remain anonymous, 520-88-CRIME.