Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie appealed to the alleged kidnapper of Nancy Guthrie to “do the right thing” as the investigation into her 84-year-old mother’s disappearance enters its third week.
Guthrie posted an emotional message to Instagram on Sunday night to mark two weeks since her mother disappeared from her Tucson, Arizona, home. In the roughly 1-minute video, Guthrie emphasized that her and her family “have hope” and “still believe,” urging the kidnapper to return her.
“I wanted to come on, and um, 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,” Guthrie said. “And I wanted to say to whoever has her or knows where she is that it’s never too late, and you are not lost or alone.”
“It is never too late to do the right thing, and we are here. We believe, and we believe in the essential goodness of every human being,” she added.
The message comes as investigators stumbled upon a major piece of evidence that could help them identify the suspect.
Earlier Sunday, the FBI said a glove recovered by authorities near Nancy Guthrie’s home appears to match the description of those worn by the suspect in the surveillance footage from her doorbell camera.
That footage, which was released last week, showed a masked man using his gloved hand to cover the camera before appearing to take nearby brush to cover it.
The glove authorities found is still undergoing further testing, which could take as long as 24 hours. But it did contain different DNA from the 15 other gloves recovered near her house.
Thus far, all that is known about the suspect is that he is a 5’9” to 5’10” male with an average build and could be seen wearing an Ozark Trail Hiker backpack.
The case has reportedly led to some clashing between state and federal law enforcement, as the Pima County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation with the FBI on hand for assistance.
Specifically, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos was accused late last week of blocking key evidence from the FBI, including a glove and DNA recovered from Nancy Guthrie’s home, and sending it to a private lab in Florida for testing instead of the FBI’s national crime lab in Virginia.
GLOVE WITH DNA FOUND NEAR GUTHRIE HOME APPEARS TO MATCH THOSE WORN IN SUSPECT VIDEO: FBI
Nanos has denied withholding evidence and insisted the FBI “agreed” to send the gloves to Florida.
With the investigation now in its third week, authorities are hoping the glove yields a breakthrough, especially given Nancy Guthrie’s age and health problems. According to her family, she has a pacemaker and requires daily medication.