In a significant development in the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, investigators now believe her abduction stemmed from an intended burglary that went awry, according to sources cited by local media. Federal authorities are intensifying their search for Guthrie, with DNA evidence collected from a Range Rover towed away on Friday currently undergoing testing.
Earlier in the day, the FBI revealed that a glove recovered roughly two miles from Guthrie's home appears consistent with one worn by a person captured on doorbell camera footage the morning she vanished, according to a person familiar with the investigation. The agency released a photo of the masked suspect on Tuesday.
The glove is slated for analysis through the Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, the FBI's national database containing approximately 19 million offender profiles and more than one million forensic profiles. As of November, CODIS has generated more than 781,492 hits and assisted in over 758,000 investigations, including solving cold cases and exonerating the wrongly convicted.
Local journalist Briana Whitney, speaking publicly, shared optimism from the probe: "The widespread belief by investigators tonight is that Nancy Guthrie could be alive."
Two people familiar with the investigation told NBC News that authorities are leaning away from several individuals previously under scrutiny. These include the man whose home was searched Friday night, a man named Carlos who was stopped in a vehicle last week, and any of Guthrie's relatives.
The sources cautioned, however, that no one has been officially ruled out, and investigators continue to pursue other leads as the search for Nancy Guthrie presses forward.
