Nancy Guthrie’s abduction on Feb. 1 is still under investigation, as she remains missing over two weeks later.
In a new interview aired on the “TODAY” show on Wednesday, Feb. 18, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos admitted that because Nancy’s captor had a “target,” he has made it extremely difficult to track them both down.
“I think this was an individual who had a target for whatever reason, and he has made it tough, but I’ve got some pretty tough investigators too,” Sheriff Nanos told NBC’s Liz Kreutz.
Sheriff Chris Nanos Is Focused on DNA
After DNA from a glove two miles away from Nancy’s Catalina Foothills home was sent in for analysis and came back with no matches in the FBI database, as well as the DNA obtained from inside of the 84-year-old’s house not matching anyone from Nancy’s blood relatives, Sheriff Nanos told Kreutz that his main focus is on identifying the DNA recovered from her residence rather than property miles away.
“We believe we may have some DNA there that may be our suspect, but we won’t know that until that DNA is separated, sorted out,” Sheriff Nanos stated. “To me, that’s more critical than any glove I found two miles away.”
Sheriff Nanos also addressed speculation about the footage from Nancy’s doorbell camera, previously released by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, of the abductor wearing a ring that could be identified if investigators honed in on said evidence.
“I look at the same photo you look at, and I see it,” Sheriff Nanos said. “I see people have circled the [spot where the ring might be] and I say, ‘I’m going to give that to my team. They’ll look at that.’”
Sheriff Nanos went on to discuss why the general public has found relatability in the high-profile case, saying that Savannah Guthrie’s decades of on-air broadcasting have made it hard for people to ignore the devastation.
“I think a lot of that is [the] ‘TODAY’ show, you know, you’re in everybody’s family,” Sheriff Nanos told Kreutz. “So they look at this and look at Savannah and go, ‘This is us.’”
‘TODAY’ Hosts Wear Yellow in Support of Nancy Guthrie
During the same “TODAY” show segment, hosts Craig Melvin, Carson Daly, Al Roker and Hoda Kotb, who is filling in for Savannah, were seen wearing yellow ribbons in support of Nancy, People reported.
Kotb took a moment to explain to viewers why the team decided to honor Nancy in that way, saying that after supporters in Tucson, Arizona, started showing their love with yellow ribbons and flowers, the “TODAY” panelists wanted to do the same for their dear friend and her family.
“We got a suggestion from one of our viewers,” Kotb shared. “We have yellow roses around Studio 1A, and we’re all wearing ribbons as we send our love to Savannah and her family.”
With several leads in the investigation still being looked into, including tracking down the weapon that the kidnapper was holstering as well as his clothing and additional footage from Nancy’s home, Sheriff Nanos told FOX10 on Feb. 17 that he still has hope that beloved Nancy is still alive.
“They ask me, do I have proof of life? I ask them, ‘Is there proof of death?’” Nanos said. “I’m going to have that faith, and sometimes that faith, that hope, is all we have… My team, 400 people out there in the field today, woke up this morning and went out there with the hope and the belief that they’re going to find Nancy.”
