DNA Genealogy Databases May Help Find Savannah Guthrie’s Missing Mother

Investigators searching for Nancy Guthrie, mother of NBC's Savannah Guthrie, are considering using DNA genealogy databases to solve her February 1st disappearance. The same technology helped crack the Golden State Killer case and the Idaho college murders.

Detectives investigating the vanishing of Nancy Guthrie are exploring the possibility of utilizing DNA genealogy databases, the same approach that cracked high-profile cases including a string of California murders spanning decades and the brutal killings of four Idaho university students.

This approach shows promise: When unidentified DNA samples can be linked to individuals — including distant family members — within public genealogy databases, investigators gain valuable leads that could potentially identify a suspect in Guthrie’s Arizona abduction.

“It’s a fantastic tool,” explained Ruth Ballard, a California-based geneticist who focuses on DNA analysis and has provided expert testimony in hundreds of legal proceedings. “If it’s a good quality sample and they’re able to get a profile, they could find a hit on that fairly quickly.”

Officials with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department in Arizona confirmed that DNA samples gathered during their investigation have yielded no matches within CODIS, the national criminal database containing genetic profiles from individuals with criminal convictions and, in certain states, those arrested for specific offenses.

“Investigators are currently looking into additional investigative genetic genealogy options for DNA evidence to check for matches. CODIS is one option of many databases that are available,” the sheriff’s department announced Tuesday.

Department officials revealed Wednesday that biological material from Guthrie’s residence in the Tucson area is undergoing testing, with DNA profiles currently at a laboratory for examination.

Nancy Guthrie, whose daughter Savannah Guthrie co-hosts NBC’s “Today” show, vanished from her residence on February 1st. Federal investigators reported that gloves discovered approximately 2 miles away seemed to correspond with those seen on a masked individual captured by a doorbell camera.

Major genealogy platforms including Ancestry, 23andMe and MyHeritage indicate they will respond to judicial orders requesting data access. GEDmatch, another genealogy service, maintains a policy requiring users to specifically consent to law enforcement access of their information. The Associated Press contacted these companies Wednesday evening to inquire about any involvement in the Guthrie case.

GEDmatch played a crucial role in identifying the notorious Golden State Killer. Law enforcement used crime scene DNA to locate a distant family member and construct a family lineage that ultimately led to Joseph DeAngelo Jr. He admitted guilt in 2020 to 13 murders and numerous sexual assaults throughout California during the 1970s and 1980s.

In the Idaho case, genetic material from a knife cover helped investigators focus on Bryan Kohberger in connection with the 2022 deaths of four University of Idaho students. Detectives employed genealogy websites to develop family connections and collected discarded items from Kohberger’s family residence in Pennsylvania to establish a link. Kohberger entered a guilty plea and received a life sentence.

Ballard noted that the origin and condition of DNA samples in police possession can influence success rates when searching genealogy platforms.

“It does require a much better sample than CODIS searching does,” she explained.

Additional obstacles may arise as well.

“There are a lot of unknowns when you go into these databases,” Ballard observed. “The databases are not equal in terms of ethnic distribution. It’s comparatively easier to find a Caucasian because more have uploaded their data and there are more family trees to mine.”