RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 6 sourcesPima County Sheriff’s Department said that the remains had been at the desert location for an ‘extended period of time’
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Human remains have been found 15 miles from the home of missing 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie .
Guthrie, the mom of Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie , vanished from her home without a trace in Catalina Foothills, Arizona, in February.
On Monday, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department confirmed in a statement that it was responding to reports of human remains found in a desert area.
The department noted that the remains appear to have been at the location for an “extended period of time,” but stressed there is currently no indication that they are connected to the missing woman .
Deputies were spotted at the reported location of the remains by CNN . The network said that at least three sheriff vehicles were parked near a residential driveway and that at least three deputies were seen hiking into hills near some of the homes.
Chief Medical Examiner Greg Hess said in a report published by the National Association of Counties that the environmental conditions in Arizona mean that finding remains in the area is more common than in other parts of the U.S.
“We have more unidentified remains than other places, because of just the nature of the environment,” he said. “It’s really hot and dry, and people die outside, and their remains are not protected from the environment.
“They’ll decompose and become skeletal remains relatively quickly.”
Guthrie has been missing for over six months, with authorities still investigating the high-profile case.
Her daughter has issued several public pleas for her mother’s return.
“This is our beautiful Mom,” Savannah Guthrie wrote on Instagram at the start of August. “Six months ago, someone took her out of her bed in the dead of night.
“We have lived every moment, every breath, and every heartbeat in agony and despair ever since.”
Doorbell camera footage released by authorities showed an as-yet unidentified, masked man outside of the elderly woman’s home on the night of her disappearance.
Speaking to Fox News Digital , Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, who has been criticized for his handling of the investigation , confirmed that testing on hair found at the scene has yielded no results .
“There’s no DNA,” he said at the end of July. “But does that mean the hair isn’t that of the suspect?
“We won’t know that till we have the suspect’s hair,” Nanos continued.
The Independent has contacted the Pima County Sheriff’s Department for comment.
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