Authorities investigating the disappearance of 84-year-old are facing 'challenges' withDNA evidencerecovered from her Arizona home, with Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos warning it could take up to a year for a private laboratory to fully analyse the samples.
Nanos said tests carried out so far have produced incomplete and mixed DNA profiles which do not match Guthrie, her relatives or people known to have worked in the property, complicating efforts to identify any unknown individuals who may have been inside the house.
Speaking to NBC News, Nanos said DNA obtained from Guthrie's home is partially combined with the 84-year-old's own genetic material and is proving difficult to separate into clear, usable profiles.
'Our lab tells us that there's challenges with it, and we understand those challenges,' he said. 'But our lab also knows that the technology is moving so fast and in such a frenzy that they think some of this stuff will resolve itself just in a matter of weeks, months or maybe a year, to allow them to do better with, say, a mixture of that kind of thing.'
According to Nanos, local law enforcement initially processed the samples, but a private laboratory in Florida is now working to further analyse the material. It is not clear why investigators opted to rely on that facility rather than using federal resources such as FBI laboratories or Arizona's own Scientific Analysis Bureau.
The sheriff's comments underline the growing reliance of complex investigations on advanced forensic technology — and the strain that delays can place on families waiting for answers. Mixed or degraded DNA samples can require more sophisticated techniques and repeated testing before any meaningful conclusions can be drawn.
Guthrie, who is the mother of NBCTodayco-anchor Savannah Guthrie, was reported missing from her Tucson-area home, prompting a multi-agency search effort and extensive media coverage in the United States and abroad.
TheFBI is assisting the Pima County Sheriff's Departmentby reviewing digital evidence, including data, video and interview material, as part of the continuing search for the missing 84-year-old. However, despite the release of surveillance footage showing a potential subject, investigators have not yet identified any suspects.
'Officials still do not have suspects or a list of names,' Nanos said, adding that leads generated so far had not yet produced a clear person of interest.
In a separate interview with the BBC on Wednesday 18 February, the sheriff said he believes Guthrie is still in the local area, while stressing that this view is not backed by hard evidence.
Source: International Business Times UK
