Nancy Guthrie Update: Hair DNA Sent to FBI Could Be 'Hail Mary' That Solves Case, Says Genetic Genealogist
Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie‘s mom, Nancy Guthrie, is still missing more than 10 weeks after she was abducted in Tucson, Ariz.-and as the FBI looks at DNA evidence from the 84-year-old's home, a genetic genealogist said that a rootless hair can "absolutely make the case solvable."
On Thursday, April 16, NewsNation Senior National Correspondent Brian Entin spoke with CeCe Moore, a genetic genealogist, after a private lab working with the Pima County Sheriff's Department sent the DNA sample to the FBI.
During his Brian Entin Investigates episode, the journalist explained that the DNA evidence collected from Nancy's home was hair, according to his sources. "The fact that it's hairs, what does that tell you?" he asked Moore.
"I've been really hoping that maybe they did have some hair to work with," she replied. Because of the more recent advancements in the field, hair can absolutely make the case solvable. So I'm really excited."
Moore continued, "And the fact that they sent it to the FBI is interesting to me because [the Florida lab doesn't have] the technology to extract snips from rootless hair. And I am assuming it's rootless hair because if it had a root, it would be really, quite straightforward And the lab in Florida would have already done that. And maybe the case would already be solved."
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Additionally, she pointed out that until recently, a rootless hair "did not contain any useful DNA for forensics, or for this type of analysis." Moore explained that, thanks to new technology from Dr. Green at Astrea Forensics to extract snip profiles from rootless hair, many otherwise unsolvable cases have been cracked.
She added, "Now we just have to hope that it is the person or persons-one of the persons-who kidnapped Nancy.
"It's again, kind of a Hail Mary," Moore cautioned. "Everything is getting to that point, I feel, because so much time has gone by. But you just never know."
Nancy was last seen at her Tucson residence on the evening of Jan. 31, with the Pima County Sheriff's Department launching its search on Feb. 1. As of writing, no suspect has been named.
Next: Nancy Guthrie Update: Forensics Expert Shares New Insight on Perpetrator's Profile
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This story was originally published April 16, 2026 at 8:35 PM.