Investigators in Pima County, Arizona are still trying to trace what happened to Nancy Guthrie, 84, after authorities said she was apparently kidnapped, with the case now turning on whether usable DNA can be pulled from evidence recovered at her home.
The stakes are obvious and grim. If the forensic trail firms up, it could narrow a search that has so far been defined by uncertainty, and if it does not, it leaves police and the family clinging to thinner strands than anyone would want in a time critical investigation.
