TUCSON, Ariz. — The search for “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie’s missing 84-year-old mother entered its 22nd day as volunteer searchers searched for clues.
Volunteers gathered in the parking lot of a Hobby Lobby in Tucson, Arizona, in the early morning hours of February 22nd, then began an unofficial search not far from Guthrie’s home. The group recovered the backpack and turned it over to deputies.
Department of Security spokeswoman Angelica Carrillo said authorities did not have an update on the investigation as of Monday morning.
Later, outside Guthrie’s home, Tucson resident Lupita Tero poked at the dirt with a sharp metal rod soldered to the handle. After wiggling the rod in the mud, Tello pulled it out and sniffed the sharp metal tip.
“If I smell something rotten, that’s where I start,” Tello said, showing reporters and crime streamers the main tools he uses to search for missing people in Mexico.
This will be the first time her group, Madres Buscadoras de Sonora, will conduct a search operation in the United States. The group is a Mexican nonprofit organization whose purpose is to search for missing and missing persons in the state of Sonora. Some of the groups joined to search for their missing sons, others to search for their missing brothers.
Tello said her group was recently informed about the Nancy Guthrie case by a journalist friend of Guthrie’s daughter, Savannah, who asked them to put up fliers and search for her.
Tello said the Pima County Sheriff’s Department told her the group needed permission from the homeowner to search private property, but formal permission was not required.
Carrillo said they are inquiring if volunteer search groups like Terror are in the area. Carrillo said they were asked to provide investigators with the space they need to do their work and to contact the department to participate in volunteer opportunities.
Madres Buscadras de Sonora is planning an official search later this week, Tello said.
In the afternoon sun, a handful of out-of-town passersby meandered past Mr. Guthrie’s one-story brick home in the Catalina foothills. Some people traveled from as far as Phoenix to visit the home of the missing woman who captured the world’s attention.
The volunteer search effort began about a week after Savannah Guthrie posted on social media on February 15th, urging anyone who knew her mother’s whereabouts: “It’s never too late to do the right thing.”
Investigators still searching for evidence in Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said in an interview aired on February 21 that the DNA found on Guthrie’s property was mixed, meaning it came from multiple people, making it difficult to check it in national databases.
The FBI is also analyzing DNA found on a glove found about three miles from Guthrie’s home, but the results have not been released.
Guthrie has been missing since January 31st. Investigators are working to identify the masked man seen on doorbell video the night Guthrie disappeared, and have not ruled out the possibility that more than one person is involved.
The information was passed on to the Sheriff’s Office and the FBI. Authorities are asking people to only submit practical tips, not wishes or similar comments.
Nanos said in an interview with NBC that no suspects have yet been named and that the complex DNA evidence is still being analyzed in the lab.
A key development in the Guthrie case occurred on February 10, when investigators recovered footage of a masked person captured on a doorbell camera the night Guthrie went missing. Authorities were still searching for the person seen wearing gloves in the video.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Office said investigators are close to identifying the clothing the masked man was wearing, including pants, shoes, a shirt and a jacket.
Investigators continued to examine surveillance footage related to key evidence, including a backpack that may have been purchased from Walmart.
The Sheriff’s Office said it is working with the retailer to identify the purchaser. Legal experts say stores routinely share transaction records and video footage with law enforcement during active investigations.
Carrillo said hundreds of law enforcement personnel continue to be assigned to the case, and staffing levels will change based on investigative leads. The investigation will continue until Guthrie is found or all leads are exhausted, she said.
Sheriff does not plan on media availability
Carrillo said no press conference is scheduled and the sheriff has no media appearances scheduled for the week of Feb. 23.
The sheriff’s last press conference was February 5th.
Law enforcement is asking anyone with information to contact 1-800-CALL-FBI or the Pima County Sheriff’s Office tips.fbi.gov. (520-351-4900) or 88-CRIME.
Contact reporter Helen Rummel. hrummel@azcentral.com and reporter Ray Covarrubias Jr. rcovarrubias@azcentral.com.
