With Today show host Savannah Guthrie‘s mom, Nancy, still missing, Arizona sheriff Chris Nanos is sharing some updates on the search as it approaches the two-week mark.
In interviews with ABC News and CNN, the Pima County sheriff said investigators had recovered DNA from gloves and other pieces of potential evidence. Those samples are now being compared to samples taken from the elder Guthrie’s acquaintances, including family members and those who have access to the home.
Several gloves have been found within a 10-mile radius of Nancy Guthrie‘s home, the sheriff said.
Investigators are also carefully analyzing the photos and videos released Tuesday of the possible suspect in Nancy Guthrie’s suspected kidnapping.
Investigators plan to take additional measurements at the front doorway based on the individual’s height.
“It is really about just taking that video and frame-by-frame and trying to get as much out as we can,” Nanos told ABC News.
Additionally, Nanos told CNN that in the hours after the doorbell images were released, the authorities received nearly 5,000 calls.
Nanos also seemed to remain hopeful in his comments to CNN, saying he still believes Nancy Guthrie “will be found.”
“I believe we are working as hard as we can to do that as fast as we can,” he said.
He added, “We’re not giving up. If Nancy’s out there, we’re going to find her.”
After the FBI released the brand of backpack the man shown in the doorbell video is wearing, NBC News reported that the brand is sold exclusively at Walmart.
While someone was detained for questioning in the Nancy Guthrie case earlier this week and subsequently released, Nanos reiterated to CNN that “nobody’s fully cleared” as a possible suspect.
Elsewhere on Friday, President Trump also commented on the ongoing search, telling reporters at the White House as he was leaving for North Carolina that “progress has been made,” according to multiple outlets.
When asked if he believed cartels were involved in Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance, Trump said, “You can’t say that yet. It’s a little bit early. But it’s — somebody either knew what they were doing very well, or they were rank amateurs. Either way, it’s not a good situation.”
And TMZ said Friday that it had received yet another email from someone who claims to know the identity of Nancy Guthrie’s alleged kidnapper.
Nancy Guthrie, 84, was reported missing on Sunday, Feb. 1, after she didn’t show up at a friend’s house to watch a livestream of church service from Savannah Guthrie’s New York church. A day later, local authorities said they believed she was abducted.
In the days since Nancy Guthrie disappeared, Savannah Guthrie and her siblings have released multiple video messages pleading for their mother’s return with at least one saying that they’d received a message from the alleged kidnapper and were willing to pay to bring her home.
The FBI said Thursday that they believe the man shown in the photos and videos released Tuesday is between 5’9″ and 5’10” with an average build and is wearing a black, 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack.