A glove resembling one worn by a subject in a surveillance video taken at Nancy Guthrie's home was not a match to any DNA profiles in a national DNA database, law enforcement said on Tuesday.
The FBI said investigators collected approximately 16 gloves at various sites near the house, and most of them were searchers' gloves that they discarded while combing the area.
"The one with the DNA profile recovered is different and appears to match the gloves of the subject in the surveillance video," the FBI said.
The Pima County Sheriff's Department said the evidence was submitted to a lab in Florida and to national DNA database CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) Tuesday morning. The sheriff's department said there were no DNA hits in CODIS.
The National DNA Index (NDIS) has over 19.2 million offender profiles, 6.1 million arrestee profiles and 1.4 million forensic profiles as of November, according to the FBI. Under the DNA Identification Act of 1994, data on convicted offenders, arrestees and detainees may be maintained in NDIS.
"CODIS essentially holds all DNA that has been submitted pursuant to an individual being convicted throughout the United States, and then also pursuant, in many states, to individuals who have been arrested," Jennifer Coffindaffer, former FBI special agent, told Newsweek. "In addition, CODIS maintains DNA that have been submitted from crime scenes throughout the United States."
Nancy, the 84-year-old mother of Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie, has been missing for over two weeks, prompting a multiagency search involving local law enforcement and the FBI. Nancy was last seen at her home in the Catalina Foothills neighborhood of Tucson, Arizona, on January 31.
Alleged ransom notes were sent to multiple news outlets after her disappearance. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos previously said at a news conference that there were clues at the crime scene indicating Nancy "did not leave on her own." The sheriff has also said Nancy needs daily medication, and it could be fatal if she did not take it every 24 hours.
The FBI said on Sunday that the gloves found about 2 miles from Nancy's home in a field near the side of the road were packaged up by the Pima County Sheriff's Department and sent overnight on Thursday. The gloves arrived at a private lab in Florida on Friday.
There is additional DNA evidence that was found at the residence, and that is also being analyzed, the sheriff's department said. "This process takes time," per the department.
Coffindaffer also told Newsweek that protocol on DNA submitted to CODIS varies by state. "There are some states like New York, which, of course has a huge population, and if you're arrested but not convicted, your DNA does not go into CODIS."
She noted that the gloves were found after video of a potential subject was released, and they could be unrelated to the investigation. "They are saying it is similar, matches, it has the same characteristics if you will, of the gloved hand we see in the video so that's the promising part," Coffindaffer said. "What's not promising is the fact that it was found so late and almost two and a half miles away from Nancy's residence. The fact that there's no DNA in CODIS doesn't mean one way or the other that this is or is not connected."
Pima County Sheriff's Department, in a statement on Tuesday: "At this point, there have been no confirmed CODIS matches in this investigation."
Savannah Guthrie, in a video posted on Instagram: "It's been two weeks since our mom was taken, and I just wanted to come on and say that we still have hope and we still believe."
Coffindaffer said she believes investigators "will 100 percent pursue IGG, genetic genealogy." The process would involve comparing a DNA sample to DNA existing in other databases, like 23andMe.
"Via court order, the FBI and the United States Attorney's Office are able to get that DNA for comparison and it's really, really critical that they do this because, again, just because they're not in CODIS does not mean they're not affiliated with this crime or didn't commit this crime," Coffindaffer said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact 1-800-CALL-FBI, 520-351-4900, 88-CRIME or visit tips.fbi.gov. The FBI is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the recovery of Nancy and/or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance.