Investigators have released two ransom notes tied to the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, six months after she vanished from her home near Tucson, Arizona, with no suspect identified and no arrests made.
Guthrie was last seen at her home on January 31 and reported missing the following day. The first note arrived February 2, sent to TMZ and a Tucson television station, addressing Savannah Guthrie by name. “We have your mother Nancy. She is safe but scared,” the note read, demanding $4 million in bitcoin by February 5, a figure that would rise to $6 million if the deadline passed.
It set a final cutoff of 5 p.m. on February 9, warning that Guthrie would be killed if payment failed to arrive. The note included two details investigators had not made public — a white smartwatch found near her bed and a destroyed floodlight in the backyard — details that gave authorities early reason to treat the letter as credible.
A second note arrived while the first deadline still loomed, shifting sharply in tone and claiming Guthrie had already died. Investigators say both notes originated from the same IP address, suggesting a single sender or group behind them, though the FBI has cautioned that some ransom communications received during the case turned out to be unrelated extortion attempts rather than the work of the actual abductors.
Authorities are releasing the notes now in hopes that someone will recognize the writing style or phrasing. The case has drawn national attention partly because of Savannah Guthrie’s public profile and her repeated video appeals to whoever is responsible. In a message posted July 27, she described her family as remaining “in agony,” calling the situation a nightmare with no resolution in sight and telling the public she still believes her mother is alive somewhere.
Despite surveillance footage, DNA testing tied to items found at the scene, and an expanding search radius around the neighborhood, the case remains unsolved. The FBI has said Guthrie’s family members and their spouses are not considered suspects. The bureau continues to investigate the disappearance as a kidnapping for ransom.
