New details about Nancy Guthrie ransom note confirm grim claim about her fate
A series of Nancy Guthrie ransom notes sent to the media after the 84-year-old went missing are believed to be from her actual kidnappers, according to a shocking new report.
The notes, sent within days of Nancy’s Feb. 1 kidnapping, generated countless headlines, capturing the attention of both the public and police — who have been tight-lipped about their authenticity.
But investigators close to the case told CBS News Monday the notes are believed to be genuine, and were sent from the same person or group of people from the same digital IP address.
That could indicate a grim outlook for Nancy’s fate — as one of the notes claimed she’d died and been “buried in nature,” according to ABC News.
The notes were sent to an Arizona TV station among other news outlets.
The first one insisted the mom of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie was “safe but scared” while demanding $4 million in Bitcoin for her return, Air Mail previously reported.
But the second made the alarming claims that Nancy — who required daily medication for a critical heart condition — had died.
While the second note said her body could be returned, made no specifications about payment.
Savannah released a heartbreaking video on social media on Feb. 7, soon after that second note was received.
“We received your message and we understand,” Savannah said at the time, in a distinctly different tone than her previous social media pleas.
“We beg you now to return our mother to us,” she said in the clip. “This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”
Reports about the notes were confused Monday after TMZ — which also received similar ransom notes that the FBI reportedly took seriously — insisted they had made no mention of Nancy’s death.
But the Arizona TV station, which received the “buried in nature” note, confirmed those reports Monday, according to ABC News.
That TV station did not release the claim about Guthrie’s death after the note was received, ABC reported, keeping in line with several outlets that remained tight-lipped about the ransom note contents.
It remains unclear whether Guthrie actually died, and unconfirmed whether the ransom notes really came from the kidnappers.
But the FBI felt the notes were convincing enough to act as if they were real.
The second note also reportedly included a rambling apology about Nancy’s death, Air Mail reported.
Savannah expressed similar confidence about the notes in March, telling NBC News, “There are a lot of different notes, I think, that came, and I think most of them — it’s my understanding — are not real, and I didn’t see them.”
“But I believe the two notes that we received, that we responded to, I tend to believe those are real,” she added.
It was that second note which shifted the investigation from kidnapping to possible homicide, according to ABC.
TMZ also received several notes the FBI took seriously, but reported Monday that none of them made any mention of Guthrie being dead.
It did however say one series of notes received – from a man claiming to know the kidnappers, but saying he was not one of them — offered information about the crime while insisting “time is of the essence.”
A subsequent note from the same sender then said “time is no longer of the essence” — prompting TMZ to conclude Nancy had died.
That sender went on to say Nancy’s body had been buried in Mexico, and that he would reveal where only in return for a single Bitcoin so he could go into hiding without being prosecuted for the kidnapping he claimed her did not commit.
Nancy remains missing with no known suspects or leads from investigators nearly five months after the vanishing.
All that is publicly known is that a masked and armed intruder broke into her Tucson home on the night she was taken, with the individual seen apparently breaking into the house in terrifying security footage.
Related Posts
The two details in Nancy Guthrie ransom note that have detectives believing they can crack the case
Exclusive | Fiancée of accused serial Boston rapist Matthew Nilo still standing by him as he appears for key hearing 3 years after arrest
