DNA testing in Nancy Guthrie case could take months but may be fast-tracked, expert says
A leading genetic genealogist is predicting it could take months for testing results on a hair sample sent from a private lab in Florida to the FBI in the stalled search for answers surrounding the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie — but there are reasons to believe answers could come sooner.
It's been more than 80 days since Guthrie's suspected abduction from her home in the Catalina Foothills, in northern Tucson, Arizona. She is the 84-year-old mother of "Today" co-host Savannah Guthrie.
"In my experience, it usually takes months, but I am assuming they will make it a top priority since most of the other cases are generally cold cases so it may be much quicker," CeCe Moore, one of the nation's leading genetic genealogists at Parabon Nanolabs in Virginia, told Fox News Digital. "It also depends on a little luck because sometimes they have to make multiple attempts before they get the DNA."
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Local and federal investigators showed public friction early in the probe, when the Pima County Sheriff's Department elected to send DNA evidence to a private lab in Florida called DNA Labs International — rather than to the FBI.
More than 11 weeks later, tests on a hair sample have led to no publicly known advancement in the case, and authorities finally transferred the sample to the FBI.
"FBI asked to test this DNA 2 months ago with the same technology we’ve always had — when the local sheriff instead sent it to a private lab," said Ben Williamson, the bureau's assistant director of public affairs. "Any further developments we will share as soon as appropriate."
It remains to be seen who the hair belongs to and whether they could be considered a suspect.
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Due to the lack of answers, experts like Moore believe the hair sample is rootless, making DNA testing more complicated but not impossible.
"Hopefully that will mean the SNP profile can be created more quickly than is typical in my experience, so the IGG can begin to identify the owner of that hair," she said.
IGG is investigative genetic genealogy, the field she specializes in. It involves a combination of DNA profiles and traditional research, where investigators combine genetics, public records and other information to gin up leads that can help identify a person of interest through their heritage.
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"At that point, we just have to hope that the hair actually belongs to Nancy’s kidnapper and not someone else who happened to visit her or had their hair transferred to her home," Moore said.
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Rootless hair samples helped land Long Island serial killer Rex Heuermann in prison decades after his first murder. He pleaded guilty earlier this month and is expected to receive multiple life sentences in June.
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San Francisco-based Astrea Forensics, which did lab work on the Heuermann case for the FBI, is now expected to be involved in the Guthrie investigation.
Lab officials contacted by Fox News Digital have declined to comment.
A combined reward of more than $1.2 million in the case remains unclaimed.
Anyone with information is asked to dial 1-800-CALL-FBI.