Nancy Guthrie Update: Genetic Genealogist Shares New Insight Into DNA Analysis Timeline
Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie‘s mom, Nancy Guthrie, is still missing after her Feb. 1 abduction in Tucson, Ariz.-and a genetic genealogist just shared new insight into the DNA analysis timeline.
On April 16, those following the 84-year-old's case learned that the FBI had received DNA evidence from Nancy's home. The Pima County Sheriff's Department (PCSD) initially sent the evidence, a hair sample, to a private lab in Florida.
During an interview with NewsNation shared on YouTube on April 19, genetic genealogist CeCe Moore weighed in on the DNA evidence-and how long it could take for the FBI to get results.
She explained that she assumes the sample is a rootless hair, as until recently, it wasn't possible to extract useful DNA from. However, the FBI is using new technology in hopes of identifying Nancy's kidnapper.
"I am imagining that the FBI is first looking at that to determine whether it could be consistent with Nancy's hair, or any of the family members, or known individuals who had been in that house," Moore said. "If not, I am assuming that they will forward that on to Astraya Forensics, and the processing will begin at that point."
She continued, "It can take months. In my experience with them, I've already helped law enforcement solve six cases using rootless hair alone. And so, I know it can be done. My guess is that because this is not a cold case yet, and most of the cases are where we're using rootless hair, that they will push this to the top of the priority list and get it done more quickly."
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Moore concluded, "But it is impossible to predict just how long because sometimes the first one or two tries are not successful. I've seen cases where they had to try three different times before they were able to extract that snip profile."
Nancy was last seen at her Catalina Foothills home on the evening of Jan. 31. The PCSD (later with the help of the FBI) launched the search on Feb. 1. As of writing, no suspect has been named, despite Savannah offering a $1 million reward for information leading to Nancy's recovery.
Next: Nancy Guthrie Update: FBI Releases New Message for the First Time in Weeks
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This story was originally published April 19, 2026 at 7:53 AM.