Investigators Reveal New Developments in the Nancy Guthrie Kidnapping Case
It has been almost eight months since Nancy Guthrie vanished from her Arizona home. While the case appeared to have gone cold months ago, investigators are now looking into a new lead, renewing interest in the case and hope that the elderly mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie will be found. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department says authorities are examining a possible new ransom note tied to the disappearance of the 84-year-old, though they have not yet determined whether it’s legitimate.
A new ransom note linked to Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance surfaces
On Sept. 28, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department released a statement revealing that a new ransom note may have been identified. In the statement, the department said its joint task force with the FBI had been “recently made aware of a new possible ransom note.” Investigators said they were also aware of social media comments being made about the note and were working to determine its credibility.
Beyond confirming the possible existence of a note, the task force is keeping the details under wraps. Authorities did not reveal the note’s contents, who received it, or how it was delivered.
It’s not the first ransom note in the case
The new note is an interesting development, but it is not the first ransom note associated with Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance. In July, authorities released two notes that had been sent to news outlets days after Guthrie was reported missing. The first, sent Feb. 2, claimed Guthrie was safe but scared and would be released unharmed once her captors received $4 million in cryptocurrency. The second note, sent four days later, said she had died shortly after she was kidnapped.
TMZ, one of the outlets that received the first note, later reported receiving another message on Feb. 11. That note demanded one bitcoin in exchange for information about Guthrie’s disappearance and who was responsible. Its legitimacy has not been verified.
The case has also brought about fake notes and false claims of information. A man pleaded guilty on July 2 to sending fake ransom messages to the Guthrie family, marking the first criminal conviction connected to the case. In July, the FBI’s Phoenix office also said some ransom claims had been judged to be illegitimate extortion attempts, while other demands were still being checked.
When did she disappear?
Nancy Guthrie was last seen around 9:45 p.m. on Jan. 31, when her family dropped her off at her home in the Catalina Foothills north of Tucson after dinner together. Her doorbell camera disconnected at 1:47 a.m. on Feb. 1, and her pacemaker stopped syncing with her Apple devices at 2:28 a.m. She was reported missing around noon after she failed to show up at a friend’s house to watch an online church service, a regular event for her. Authorities later found her blood on the home’s front stoop.
In February, the FBI released surveillance video of a masked person who appeared to tamper with a camera on Guthrie’s front porch and block it with a plant. Authorities described the individual as a man about 5 feet, 9 inches tall. Despite the video, no suspects have been named, and the case has since gone largely quiet.
