On February 1st, 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. Days after the disappearance, two notes deemed “potentially credible” by investigators were sent to media outlets claiming to be from the person responsible.
The first note, received one day after the disappearance, reportedly said that Guthrie was safe and requested millions in cryptocurrency in exchange for her release. Investigators took it seriously because it reportedly went into specific details about Guthrie’s bedroom and the interior of the home that weren’t available to the general public.
On February 6th, the second note was received, but its contents have not been made public until now. This was addressed to Savannah Guthrie, and is said to have used “similar language” to the first note. The exact wording is unknown, but BBC News is now reporting that the second note revealed that Guthrie had died, apologized to the family, and said she was “buried with nature”.
The reason the contents of this note haven’t been revealed until now was a request from the police to media outlets not to disclose the contents to the public.
The investigation continues
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department declined to comment on specifics, but their spokesperson said: “The Pima County Sheriff’s Department continues to work closely with the FBI as investigators follow up on leads, review information, and pursue the facts surrounding this case.”
In a March interview, (via TODAY) Savannah Guthrie said that while the family had received several ransom notes, she believed many of them were fakes, but that the details in the two original notes were so exact she believed they were from the person or persons responsible for the disappearance.
Savannah Guthrie has already indicated that she believes her mother won’t be returned alive. On 24 February, she said the family “know that she may be lost, she may already be gone” and that (as Business Insider reports):
“She may have already gone home to the lord that she loves and is dancing in heaven with her mom and her dad and with her beloved brother, Pierce, and with our daddy. If this is what is to be, then we will accept it.”
Meanwhile, in early June, an anonymous tip was received by a group in Mexico that locates missing people, saying that Nancy Guthrie was buried in an unmarked grave near a stream in the Mariposa area near the US/Mexico border. A preliminary excavation was conducted, but nothing was found. The search continues.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Detectives want to hear from anyone with a potential lead in the case, with the reward for useful information currently at more than $1.2 million. You can contact them at 520-359-4900. You can also call 1-800-CALL- FBI.
Published: Jun 23, 2026 06:31 am