Nancy Guthrie Case Bombshell: DNA Evidence Rushed to FBI's Elite Quantico Lab After Early Tests Failed to ID Suspect — As Elderly Woman Remains Missing
The FBI will examine the DNA samples in their high-tech lab.
April 16 2026, Published 7:20 p.m. ET
DNA evidence recovered from Nancy Guthrie’s home is finally being rushed to the FBI’s elite lab for cutting-edge analysis after earlier testing failed to crack the case, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The major break comes more than two and a half months after the 84-year-old was seemingly snatched in the dead of night from her Arizona home. Now, hair, a bedsheet clipping and other key samples have been sent to the bureau’s Quantico, Virginia, facility in a desperate bid to identify a suspect.
Crucial DNA Evidence Now Heading to FBI's High-Tech Lab
Video of the suspect in Nancy Guthrie's kidnapping has yet to yield any major leads.
NewsNation’s Brian Entin dropped the bombshell on April 16, revealing that a Florida lab hired by the Pima County Sheriff’s Office has shipped key evidence to the FBI’s Quantico facility for high-tech genetic testing.
The move comes after months of behind-the-scenes tension, with the FBI reportedly pushing to handle the evidence from the start while local authorities stuck with their contracted private lab following Nancy’s February 1 abduction.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos previously revealed that their lab determined the DNA samples were "mixed," meaning they contained genetic evidence from two or more people.
The FBI did run the previous samples through its CODIS DNA database, but failed to find a match.
Viewers Puzzled When Savannah Guthrie Left 'Today' Mid-Show
Savannah Guthrie began interviewing Anne Hathaway then vanished during a commercial break.
Speculation about new developments in Nancy's case were sparked when her daughter, Savannah Guthrie, abruptly left Today mid-show on April 15.
The anchor was in the middle of chatting with actress Anne Hathaway when the show cut to commercial — only for co-host to take over the interview when it returned, leaving viewers puzzled.
Kotb, who had been filling in for Craig Melvin during his vacation, carried on without explanation before Savannah later reappeared for a cooking segment.
The sudden disappearance was never addressed on air.
'Today' Show's Plan for Alerting Savannah Guthrie to News About Her Mom
NBC reportedly has a code phrase if they need to alert Savannah Guthrie to major devleopments in her missing mom's case.
It was previously reported that NBC has a code phrase in place to pull Savannah aside and give her important updates about her mom, as she'll be told she's "needed off set."
"We would pull her immediately, mid-segment if we had to," an insider revealed. "She would understand that there was news about her mom and we’d take her into an office and tell her, at the same time that another anchor would report it as a breaking story."
Savannah Guthrie's Brother Believes Their Mom Was Kidnapped for Ransom
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Savannah Guthrie revealed her brother thought their mom might have been targeted due to her TV fame.
The only real break in Nancy’s chilling disappearance came on February 10, when Google managed to recover a brief Nest doorbell camera clip showing a gloved and masked man holstering a gun in his waistband as he tried to disable the device.
Despite the footage capturing his movements, clothing, and even a glimpse of his eyes and what appeared to be a mustache, it yielded no major leads, even as more than 5,000 tips flooded into the Pima County Sheriff’s Office.
No definitive motive has been announced publicly, although Savannah revealed she had been blaming herself during an interview ahead of her return to Today on April 6.
She revealed that her retired fighter pilot brother, Camron, saw "very clearly right away" that the incident was likely a kidnapping for ransom. Savannah asked her sibling if he thought their mom could have been targeted because of her fame, and she tearfully said he responded, "I'm sorry, sweetie, but yeah, maybe."
