It has now been six months to the day since Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of NBC Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, disappeared from her home in the Catalina Foothills neighborhood of Tucson, Arizona.
Save for some grainy security camera footage, there have been few leads, though from the earliest moments of the case investigators had two “credible” ransom notes said to contain information that only the person responsible could know.
The initial note, received soon after her disappearance, reportedly said that Guthrie was safe and requested millions in bitcoin in exchange for her release. Investigators were said to have believed it was credible due to it containing details about Guthrie’s bedroom and the interior of the home that weren’t available to the general public.
On February 6, a second note was received. The contents were made public last week, saying that Guthrie had died, apologizing for her death, and saying she was buried “with nature”. A third note has now been unveiled, reportedly from someone who knows who’s responsible and can provide evidence.
“None of the ransom notes are believed to be genuine.”
Now, in a surprising twist, an FBI source has reported to Reuters that they now believe all three notes are bogus. The FBI official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “None of the ransom notes are believed to be genuine.”
It has also been revealed that the FBI tested whether the ransom demand was legitimate in the early days of the case by transferring a small amount of Bitcoin into the wallet specified in the note, but this was never accessed.
The official explains that these factors, in combination with “other unspecified means,” have led the FBI to conclude that the first two notes were sent by the same person, but that person has no connection to Guthrie’s disappearance. The third and most recent note has also been confirmed to be inauthentic, though the official would not specify why.
Where the investigation goes from here is unknown. There was some hope that DNA evidence collected at the scene might provide a lead, but the blood on Guthrie’s porch turned out to belong to her. In addition, DNA recovered from a glove found near her home failed to produce a match.
There may be leads being pursued that aren’t public knowledge, but as of writing, every indication is that this investigation has hit a dead end.
Angelica Carrillo, a spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, did not comment on specifics related to the notes and said any queries on them should be referred to the FBI. She added: “We don’t have any updates, other than this is still an active investigation.”
Nancy Guthrie remains missing.
Published: Jul 1, 2026 05:58 am