An Arizona couple reported finding a pair of black gloves and a rock with what appeared to be dried blood in the desert about a mile from Nancy Guthrie’s home days after she was reported missing.
The couple, who asked to remain anonymous, told KVOA they discovered the gloves about 10 feet apart off Campbell Avenue in the Catalina Foothills area of Tucson on Feb. 11, The New York Post reported.
They said one glove appeared ripped and had what looked like blood near the wrist and on the index finger. The couple said they did not touch the gloves because they feared contaminating potential evidence.
They said they also observed what appeared to be a dried blood droplet on a rock beneath one of the gloves. The pair contacted authorities and provided photographs. Investigators responded to the scene and remained there until about 2 a.m., according to the report.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said it could not confirm whether the gloves found by the couple were among those collected for DNA testing.
“We cannot confirm at this time. Detectives and agents have collected multiple gloves from the area, and analysis is part of the investigation,” the department said in a statement.
Authorities previously said DNA recovered from gloves found in the area did not match any profiles in the FBI database and did not match DNA collected inside Guthrie’s home.
Officials also said the gloves appeared similar to those worn by a masked individual seen outside Guthrie’s home the morning she disappeared on Jan. 31.
No suspects or persons of interest have been publicly identified.
The reward for information in the disappearance of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother, Nancy Guthrie, has been increased to $200,000 after DNA recovered near the scene failed to match any profiles in federal criminal databases.
Nancy Guthrie, 84, has been missing since Feb. 1, when she disappeared from her home in Tucson, Arizona, The Washington Times reported.
An anonymous donor raised the reward to $200,000 on Wednesday for information leading to her whereabouts or return, according to multiple reports. The FBI said a glove found about two miles from the residence appeared consistent with those worn by a masked individual captured on a porch camera.
Investigators conducted advanced forensic testing, including genetic genealogy analysis, on DNA recovered from the glove in an effort to identify a suspect. Officials said the analysis did not produce a match in federal criminal databases.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said it may turn to additional genealogy databases in an attempt to identify a potential suspect.
Authorities have previously used such techniques in high-profile cases, including decades-old murders in California and the killings of four college students in Idaho, according to The Associated Press.
Officials said the only confirmed biological evidence tied to Nancy Guthrie at the scene was blood found on the front steps of her home.
Investigators have cleared members of the Guthrie family as possible suspects. Former Pima County Sheriff Richard Carmona criticized the department’s handling of the investigation.
“We are just disappointed at the level or lack of leadership at the senior position and some of the remarks that are quite embarrassing,” Carmona said in a statement to Fox News.
Current Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos denied any rift between his department and the FBI. Nanos told Fox 10 the agencies have a “great working relationship.” The investigation remains ongoing.
Investigators have not ruled out the possibility that an accomplice helped the suspected kidnapper seen in the doorbell camera video outside the Tucson, Arizona, home of Nancy Guthrie the night she disappeared, according to Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos.
Authorities believe Nancy Guthrie, 84, was forcibly taken from her home in the middle of the night before she was reported missing on Feb. 1, CBS News reported.
Nanos informed CBS News partner BBC News that he believes the apparent abduction targeted Guthrie.