A new report claims that another ransom note i Nancy Guthrie the case acknowledged that the missing family matriarch is dead.
Monday 22 May at NBC News reported that it reviewed two notes allegedly sent for Today anchor Savannah Guthrie‘s mother Nancy’s disappearance on February 1st. In a note, the alleged kidnappers claimed Nancy was dead, but there was no apology or any request for payment for the return of her body, according to the outlet.
However, TMZ stated that another ransom it received did not include an apology or an acknowledgment that Nancy was dead. It’s not clear if the note TMZ received was sent by the same person who originally contacted authorities.
The site reported that it received dozens of emails from yet another person who insisted they knew Nancy’s whereabouts and the identity of her alleged kidnappers.
That person – who stressed they were not directly involved in the kidnapping – initially asked for bitcoin in exchange for crucial information. While an early email said “time is of the essence,” TMZ reported that a later email said “time is no longer of the essence,” apparently indicating that Nancy had died.
New details have continued to emerge amid the disappearance of Today show coanker Savannah Guthrie’s mother, Nancy Guthrie. News broke Feb. 1 that Nancy, 84, had been reported missing by a family member who called 911. She was last seen a day before by daughter Annie Guthrie. (Nancy shared daughters Annie and Savannah, 54, (…)
Us Weekly contacted the Pima County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
Nancy was last seen alive when she was dropped off at her home by her son-in-law, Tommaso Cionithe night of January 31. She was officially reported missing the following day after a friend alerted the Guthrie family that Nancy did not show up as scheduled for a virtual church service. (Both Savannah’s sister, Annie Guthrieand her husband were cleared in the case by Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos.)
While authorities have released doorbell camera footage showing a masked man at Guthrie’s front door, no suspect or person of interest has been publicly named. On Feb. 24, Savannah, 54, released a video on social media offering a $1 million reward for information leading to Nancy’s return.
Investigation of suspected ransom notes in the case was resurfaced over the weekend when Air mail reported that investigators first received communication from an alleged kidnapper on February 2nd.
The outlet reported that the first note mentioned that Nancy was “safe but scared” and asked for $4 million to be paid by February 5 for her return, warning that the sum would rise to $6 million if the cash was not sent by February 9. This first note allegedly warned that their terms had to be met “or else”, per Air Mail.
A law enforcement task force allegedly used a tactic known as “tickling the wire,” where they sent $152 to a Bitcoin account to see if any financial transactions with the suspected kidnapper could be traced. The money was allegedly never touched by the alleged kidnapper and their deadline eventually passed.
On February 6, authorities received another note with a “boisterous and troublesome” tone, in which the writer claimed Nancy was dead and offered to return her body for an undisclosed amount, Air mail reported.
Savannah and Nancy Guthrie
Courtesy NBCSavannah and her siblings Cameron and Annie, 56, released a video on February 7 offers to engage further with alleged kidnappers.
“We received your message and we understand. We are now asking you to return our mother to us so we can celebrate with her,” Savannah said via Instagram. “This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us and we will pay.”
During her exclusive sitdown with Hoda Kotb on Today in March, Savannah spoke about the authenticity of the various ransom letters they had received since Nancy disappeared.
“There are a lot of different notes that came in,” she told Hotb, 61. “I think most of them, from my understanding, are not real. … I think the two notes that we received that we responded to tend to believe that they are real.”
Earlier this month, Sheriff Nanos, 70, stated that the case has been “difficult” to solve because it relied on DNA evidence.
“What really makes it longer is that we’re dependent on labs,” he told Arizona outlet KOLD News 13 on June 1. “You don’t want to jeopardize the integrity of this case, but the integrity of DNA as an adjunct to law enforcement.”
