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Federal investigators have taken the right approach by pushing every technological tool they have into the search for Nancy Guthrie, deploying investigative genetic genealogy after initial DNA hits came up empty. When common-sense methods like CODIS failed to identify a match, the FBI moved to more sophisticated analysis — and good: criminals shouldn’t get a free pass because they aren’t already in a government database.
Evidence recovered near Guthrie’s home — including a black glove found about two miles away — produced DNA that was submitted to the national database and, frustratingly, returned no match, forcing investigators to pivot to genealogy and other partial samples. Law enforcement’s transparency in admitting the limits of the first tests is encouraging, and the clearance of Guthrie’s family as suspects should end the cruel, speculative media circus and let real investigators do their work.
Authorities are leaving no stone unturned: the FBI circulated doorbell footage showing a masked man with a distinct Ozark Trail backpack and even deployed technology aimed at locating Guthrie’s pacemaker signal from the air. Tracing that backpack’s purchase history through the retailer and attempting to triangulate telemetry from the pacemaker are the kind of granular, old-fashioned police work upgraded with modern tools that conservative Americans should applaud.
The frenzied social-media speculation and tasteless conspiracy-mongering surrounding the family have been disgusting to watch, and responsible law enforcement rightly called out the public rush to judgment. We should expect silence from investigators until they have something substantive — leaks and rumors only help the guilty and terrorize the innocent.
At the same time, conservatives must recognize a bittersweet truth: investigative genetic genealogy is proving its worth in cracking cold cases, but it raises valid privacy concerns that should be handled through clear law and strict oversight, not hand-wringing or reflexive bans. For now, the priority is bringing Nancy Guthrie home or to justice for whoever harmed her, and if that requires using every lawful tool to identify a suspect through family matches, so be it — law and order matters.
Americans should stand with the Guthrie family, demand that investigators be resourced and left alone to do their jobs, and insist on swift justice when the perpetrator is found. Our communities deserve safety, and when tragedy strikes our most vulnerable, the response must be relentless, disciplined, and respectful of due process — exactly what investigators appear determined to deliver.
