Federal investigators said Wednesday that they are still evaluating a number of ransom notes connected to the February disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, describing some messages as potentially legitimate while labeling others as extortion attempts. The FBI’s Phoenix office said the case is being investigated as a kidnapping for ransom and confirmed that law enforcement has received several ransom notes during the course of the probe.
Loading post…
Guthrie, the mother of television anchor Savannah Guthrie, was reported missing from her home near Tucson, Arizona, on Feb. 1 after she was last seen the previous night at about 9:45 p.m., Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said when the disappearance was first reported. In the days after she vanished, investigators released doorbell camera images that captured an armed, masked man on the front porch of Guthrie’s residence on the morning she disappeared; the FBI has characterized that individual as a suspect in the case. Community volunteers and loved ones have continued visible efforts to locate her and to keep attention on the case as authorities pursue leads. Volunteers post a missing-person flyer on a street pole in Tucson, Ariz., as part of ongoing efforts after a February disappearance.
Investigators have examined at least two notes that were sent to media outlets following Guthrie’s disappearance. The first message asserted that Guthrie was safe and demanded payment in cryptocurrency in exchange for her release. A second note, received later, appeared to indicate that she had died, a detail that three people familiar with the case described to investigators. The FBI did not specify on Wednesday how many total ransom notes had been received during the investigation, and officials said some of the communications remain under active review to determine their authenticity.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department, which is working alongside the FBI, acknowledged it has received information about potential ransom notes and said every tip and lead is being shared with detectives. “Every tip and lead is taken seriously and is forwarded directly to our detectives, who continue to work in coordination with the FBI,” the sheriff’s office said in a public statement. The FBI’s Phoenix office reiterated in a post on the social platform X that “This case continues to be investigated as a kidnapping for ransom case.”
The FBI’s public update pushed back against earlier reporting that had suggested all of the notes were fake. Investigators emphasized that while some submissions have been ruled out as efforts to extort money or otherwise exploit the situation, other communications require further forensic and investigative review before officials can determine whether they are credible and connected to the disappearance.
Family members have been vocal in pressing for help and information. Savannah Guthrie recorded an Instagram video in the days after her mother went missing in which she said the family would “pay” for her return. In subsequent public statements and television appearances she has repeatedly appealed to anyone with information to come forward, saying the family is “in agony” and that they “cannot be at peace.” She has urged anonymity for anyone who may know something and said the reward for information remains available. Loved ones have circulated personal photographs and continued outreach to keep the case in the public eye. A personal photo of the missing woman with a relative, circulated by loved ones amid the ongoing investigation into her February disappearance.
Law enforcement has not released detailed findings from the forensic analysis of the notes, and officials cautioned that the investigative work remains ongoing. Detectives from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department continue to coordinate with FBI agents as they pursue leads, screen tips and subject materials such as the notes to verification processes that can include handwriting analysis, digital forensics and tracing of any requested cryptocurrency pathways. For now, authorities have reiterated the central classification of the incident as a kidnapping for ransom while underscoring that some of the communications received have been determined to be attempts to extort money rather than bona fide messages from a perpetrator or someone with knowledge of Guthrie’s whereabouts.
The search for Guthrie continues, and law enforcement officials have asked members of the public to submit any information that might assist the inquiry. Family members said they remain desperate for answers and vowed to continue seeking her return. “We’re begging for your help,” Savannah Guthrie has said in public appeals, adding that any information, no matter how small, could be crucial. “We love our mom, and we’ll never stop looking for her, ever.”
Retired FBI agent and NewsNation contributor Jennifer Coffindaffer highlighted on X that official responses from the FBI and Pima County Sheriff’s Department regarding the ransom notes "are very different," underscoring potential coordination issues. She shared screenshots of both statements amid continued public scrutiny of the investigation's progress.
Early in the investigation, an email reportedly sent to Tucson TV stations demanded $4 million in Bitcoin by Feb. 5 for Guthrie's safe return and threatened to raise the demand to $6 million by Feb. 9 if payment was not made.
In late June, TMZ reported receiving additional emails from an anonymous sender claiming to possess a phone with video and photos identifying two alleged kidnappers and demanding one Bitcoin for the device's password; TMZ founder Harvey Levin said he offered to pay and that federal agents subsequently asked the outlet to "stand down" while investigators pursued the lead.
Authorities have said blood found at or near Guthrie's residence was tested and matched her DNA, and that a glove recovered near the home yielded DNA that was submitted for comparison but did not produce a match in the national CODIS database.