TRAGIC NEWS: Nancy Guthrie’s MOTHER DIES following 18-DAY SEARCH; NEW BIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE uncovered at her HOME

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19/02/2026

Investigators uncovered DNA evidence that does not belong to Nancy Guthrie during a search of her Catalina Foothills home more than two weeks after she was kidnapped, sources told The Post.

The discovery of new evidence was revealed Wednesday after investigators did yet another search of the residence belonging to the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show anchor Savannah Guthrie with a fine-tooth comb, sources said.

It’s not clear what the evidence is, when exactly it was discovered, or whether it has been shared with the FBI.

A Pima County Sheriff deputy escorts a person from a brick house surrounded by desert landscaping.
In an aerial view, a Pima County Sheriff escorts a person off Nancy Guthrie’s property on February 16, 2026, in Tucson, Arizona.Getty Images
The revelation comes as the investigation into Nancy’s disappearance has stretched into its third week with no suspects or clear leads.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement on Wednesday that investigators are “currently analyzing biological evidence” found at Nancy’s home and that DNA profiles are under lab analysis.

“The number of profiles and other related details remain part of the active investigation,” the statement said.

“We believe that we may have some DNA there that may be our suspect,” Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said on “Today” on Wednesday morning.

Authorities won’t be able to confirm if the sample recovered from the home belongs to the suspect until it is “separated, sorted out,” Nanos added.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department confirmed when reached by The Post that DNA evidence was uncovered at the home and that it is “all part of the investigation.”

Surveillance image of a person in a balaclava holding flowers, suspected in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
FBI Director Kash Patel released surveillance images on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, of a suspect wanted in connection with the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie from her Tucson, Arizona, home.FBI
That new evidence follows tests on a discarded black glove found about two miles from Nancy’s home, which did not return any matches in the federal DNA database, Nanos told Fox News earlier this week.

Separate DNA found earlier in Nancy’s home also did not match any records in the FBI database, the sheriff said.

The glove was one of more than a dozen collected from the scene near the main highway that heads through the Catalina Foothills neighborhood north of Tucson, where Nancy’s residence is located.

Most of those gloves were determined to have been dropped on the ground by searchers taking part in the initial hunt for Nancy, the FBI said.

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DNA samples from blood spattered on Nancy’s doorstep were also confirmed to belong to the missing 84-year-old grandmother

Outside of the DNA collected, investigators have followed leads from other evidence, including the Walmart-bought clothing and backpack that Nancy’s alleged kidnapper appeared to wear in doorbell camera footage uncovered from the night she vanished.

Investigators are still working to identify the brands of all the items worn by the suspect and whether they were purchased in-store or online.

The suspect’s backpack, a black Ozark Trail Hiker, is sold exclusively at Walmart. His gun holster, the mask, and other clothing he wore in the eerie video appeared to have been sold by the major retailer, CBS News previously reported.

Nancy Guthrie, mother of "Today" show anchor Savannah Guthrie, smiling while sitting at a table with Mahjong tiles and a Mahjong card in front of her.
Nancy Guthrie, mother of “Today” show anchor Savannah Guthrie, disappeared from her Arizona home on Feb. 1, 2026.Courtesy NBC Universal
Walmart has since handed over all records of the Ozark Trail Hiker’s online and in-store purchases from the past several months, even beyond the local area, and investigators have spent hours poring over surveillance footage at local Walmarts in the Tucson, Arizona area.

Betsy Brantner Smith of the National Police Association told The Post that the backpack and holster could be one of the most “promising” leads yet for detectives working on the 84-year-old’s kidnapping case.

Nancy’s son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, was the last person to see her on Jan. 31, when he dropped her off at home after she had dinner with him and her daughter, Annie. She was reported missing the following day.

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Authorities have cleared all members of the Guthrie family, including Cioni, as possible suspects in the investigation.

“To be clear…the Guthrie family — to include all siblings and spouses — has been cleared as possible suspects in this case. The family has been nothing but cooperative and gracious, and are victims in this case,” Nanos said in a statement Monday afternoon.

More than a week into the search for Savannah Guthrie’s missing mother, Nancy Guthrie, new information has come to light about events on the morning of Sunday, Feb. 1, which first alerted the Guthrie family to the fact that the 84-year-old was missing.

Despite it originally being reported that the family was called when Nancy failed to show up to a local church service, it has since been confirmed that, since the COVID pandemic, Nancy actually met with a group of friends in her Arizona neighborhood to watch a virtual service from Savannah’s New York church, Good Shepherd.

When Nancy didn’t attend the regularly scheduled viewing and couldn’t be reached, her friends contacted her daughter, Annie, who had been with her the night before for dinner.

Savannah Guthrie and mother Nancy Guthrie

Savannah Guthrie/Instagram

Pastor Michael Rudzena issued a call to prayer for the Good Shepherd congregation on Monday evening, writing, “The Good Shepherd community continues to pray faithfully for our parishioner Nancy’s safe return and calls on everyone to offer their faith and love through prayer at this time.”

Prayer Vigil For Nancy Guthrie

Pastor Michael Rudzena at Good Shepherd church in New York City on Feb. 4.Good Shepherd New York

Sharing his words with PEOPLE, Rudzena said, “Like many of our digital parishioners, Nancy began tuning in virtually to Good Shepherd services during the pandemic and later continued to gather with friends to watch and worship. Over the years, in person and online, Nancy shared encouragements that gave us a window into the Bible readings and songs that are especially meaningful to her faith.”

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The Good Shepherd church also held a vigil for Nancy on Feb. 4, which was live-streamed and attended in person by Savannah’s co-workers Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager.

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Bush Hager detailed the emotional event during the Feb. 5 episode of her show, Today with Jenna & Sheinelle.

“As I was watching that with Mila, who is old enough to know what’s happening, and my husband, I just had my arm around my little girl, and she kept saying, ‘It’s going to be okay, Mommy,’ ” Bush Hager said of her 12-year-old daughter, whom she shares with husband, Henry Hager.