A visual guide to the evidence in the Nancy Guthrie investigation

(CNN) — Nancy Guthrie vanished on February 1 from her secluded Tucson, Arizona, home in the dead of night.

The saga has become a waking nightmare for Guthrie’s family, with her daughter, “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, making a series of increasingly heartbreaking pleas for her mother’s abductors to “do the right thing” and bring the Guthrie matriarch home.

Despite an extensive investigation – and assistance from community members – authorities appear no closer to publicly identifying a leading theory or motive behind Guthrie’s abduction.

Investigators say they are still working to piece together the fragmented puzzle of evidence they’ve gathered. And now, new details about the initial notes that launched a desperate search for Guthrie have opened a new chapter in the saga.

From chilling surveillance footage to DNA and a collection of gloves, here’s a look at what we know about the evidence in the investigation:

The ransom notes

In the early days of the investigation, multiple media outlets received notes from people claiming to be Guthrie’s captors. While authorities did not initially say whether the letters were authentic, investigators insisted they were taking them seriously.

Days after Guthrie went missing, TMZ was among the first to report on a ransom note demanding millions of dollars in Bitcoin for her safe return. According to the outlet’s founder, Harvey Levin, the note began by saying Guthrie was “OK, but scared.”

Levin said the letter included one detail that had not been reported: the placement of Nancy Guthrie’s Apple Watch. The note also included two deadlines. The same letter was also sent to local CNN affiliates KOLD and KGUN.

But it was followed by another note – which claimed the 84-year-old had died.

In February, KOLD received a second communication from Guthrie’s alleged abductors.

That letter claimed Guthrie had died shortly after the kidnapping and that her abductors did not mean to kill her, multiple law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation told CNN.

“The thing that makes the note significant is it came from the same electronic source as the first note, which demanded the ransom,” CNN Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller said.

He added the second note had “a very different tone (from) that note the week before.”

At the time, CNN and two local news outlets agreed to a request from law enforcement and the Guthries to hold off on reporting the contents of both notes so any future communications with the kidnapper could be authenticated, Miller said.

But questions surrounding the contents of the letter resurfaced in June after news outlets including Air Mail, NBC and ABC reported contents of notes related to the case.

Savannah Guthrie briefly addressed these developments during a segment on “Today.”

“I wanted to take the opportunity to ask people – really to beg people – to come forward,” she said. “We are in agony. We cannot be at peace.”

During the initial investigation, a man was also charged with sending a fake ransom threat in connection with the case. The FBI said he was “trying to profit” from the case and there was “no evidence to connect” him to her disappearance.

The surveillance footage

Just over a week after Guthrie vanished, investigators released surveillance footage and images recovered from Guthrie’s doorbell camera.

The Nest camera was reported missing after Guthrie’s abduction, but investigators partnered with Google, which owns the security camera company, to recover some of the data.

The grainy video shows a man in a ski mask approaching Guthrie’s front door and attempting to cover her doorbell camera with a gloved hand. He then walks off the porch and picks up shrubbery to try to cover the lens.

The FBI later described the person as the “suspect in the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie.” The agency said the man is approximately 5-foot-9 to 5-foot-10 tall with an average build.

“We hope this updated description will help concentrate the public tips we are receiving,” the FBI Phoenix office said.

The suspect appears to be wearing a backpack and a gun holster in the surveillance footage, but in one of the photos released by the FBI, both items are missing.

This photo was taken on a separate day, a source told CNN, and investigators now believe the suspect may have visited Guthrie’s home on multiple occasions.

“This might help explain why investigators appear to be so focused on the weeks before her abduction,” CNN’s Ed Lavandera said. “And this also kind of gets to the question about whether or not this was just a random act.”

In an interview with the “Today” show on February 24, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said the images recovered from the doorbell camera did not include dates or timestamps and any conclusions about when the photos were taken are “speculative.”

Savannah Guthrie shared the footage of the suspect on her social media accounts with the caption, “someone out there recognizes this person.”

“We believe she is still out there,” she wrote, “Bring her home.”

The backpack

In the footage and images released by the FBI, the suspect appears to have a gun holstered near the center of his waist – an unusual position – and is seen wearing a backpack with reflective straps.

The FBI later said the backpack he is wearing is a black, 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department told CNN the backpack is only sold at Walmart, and investigators are working with the retailer to gather more information.

The glove

As they searched the area around Guthrie’s home, investigators recovered multiple gloves.

A glove found about two miles from the house appeared to visually match the ones worn by the suspect, according to the FBI. Authorities took DNA samples from the glove and ran it through the national database known as CODIS, which compares a DNA sample against the profiles of more than 19 million known offenders.

But it did not return any matches.

Authorities have not said if they’ve determined if the glove is connected to the kidnapping.

The DNA

Investigators have said they also recovered DNA from Guthrie’s property that doesn’t match the 84-year-old or anyone close to her. Although they have not disclosed where the DNA was recovered, they’ve said they’re still working to find a match.

After the DNA on the glove failed to return a match in CODIS, investigators will likely turn to the growing field of genetic genealogy – which has led to breakthroughs in several high-profile cases, including Bryan Kohberger and the Gilgo Beach murders.

Genetic genealogy capitalizes on the popularity of consumer DNA products to compare a forensic DNA sample against the profiles in the databases of private companies, like Ancestry. Even if the suspect has never personally used an at-home DNA service, a family member may have, and this can unlock clues to their identity.

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CNN’s John Miller, Julianna Bragg, Elizabeth Hartfield and Ed Lavandera contributed to this report.