{"id":2698,"date":"2026-06-22T16:08:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T16:08:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2698"},"modified":"2026-06-22T16:08:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T16:08:46","slug":"the-catastrophic-mistake-nancy-guthrie-investigation-suffered-in-its-early-days-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2698","title":{"rendered":"The catastrophic mistake Nancy Guthrie investigation suffered in its early days: report"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Officials searching for Nancy Guthrie made a major mistake in the early days of the investigation, according to a new report.<\/p>\n

Read more One of the Nancy Guthrie ransom notes apologized for her heartbreaking death: report<\/a><\/p>\n

The Pima County Sheriff\u2019s Department and the FBI allegedly blew a chance to find the 84-year-old\u2019s kidnappers in early February, sources told Air Mail.<\/p>\n

The outlet claimed Saturday that on Feb. 1, hours after Savannah Guthrie\u2019s mom was reported missing from her Arizona home, a potentially credible ransom note was sent \u2014 as was reported by media outlets at the time.<\/p>\n

The alleged kidnappers, who provided accurate details about Nancy\u2019s outfit at the time of her disappearance, and the damaged floodlight in her Tucson backyard, requested $4 million in Bitcoin by Feb. 5.<\/p>\n

The note, which reportedly dubbed Nancy \u201csafe but scared,\u201d ended with the words, \u201cOr else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead of paying the full sum and potentially tracking down the kidnapper when the Bitcoin was turned into cash \u2014 and giving the money back to the Guthrie family \u2014 officials used a \u201ctickling the wire\u201d tactic.<\/p>\n

Investigators sent $152 to the Bitcoin address, hoping this amount would be withdrawn and present them with new leads.<\/p>\n

This move, however, did not \u201ctempt\u201d the alleged kidnapper, who was captured in chilling security camera footage from Nancy\u2019s home, and the Bitcoin sat untouched.<\/p>\n

On Feb. 6, an email from the same I.P. address arrived and, according to sources close to the case, read as \u201csputtering,\u201d \u201clabored\u201d and \u201cless confident\u201d than the last.<\/p>\n

The individual shared an \u201capology\u201d for Nancy\u2019s inadvertent death, as well as a request that a ransom payment be made for the return of her body.<\/p>\n

Read more Supreme Court reinstates murder conviction in case of Etan Patz, missing New York City boy<\/a><\/p>\n

The outlet claimed, \u201cThe task force had to throw up their hands in dismay and concede that \u2026 nothing in the collections of carefully analyzed notes had gotten them any closer to finding the culprits. \u2026 It was too late. The damage had been done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Savannah and her siblings, Camron Guthrie and Annie Guthrie, addressed the bleak ransom note in an Instagram plea the following day.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe received your message and understand,\u201d the NBC personality said. \u201cWe beg you now to return our mother to us, so that we can celebrate with her. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later that same month, she acknowledged her mom\u2019s probable passing in another social media video.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that she may be lost,\u201d the news anchor said at the time. \u201cShe may already be gone. 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Savannah gave her first interview on the tragedy to colleague Hoda Kotb in March, she spoke to the veracity of the ransom notes received.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u00a0believe the two notes that we received that we responded to, I tend to believe those are real,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

She has since returned to her \u201cToday\u201d show duties with co-host Craig Melvin, honoring her still-missing mom with a yellow dress on her first day back.<\/p>\n

Savannah recently acknowledged Nancy\u2019s absence while tearing up on air, admitting, \u201cI\u00a0cry every morning on the way to work\u00a0and I cry every morning on the way home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more X is down for thousands of users who complain of broken timelines, error messages on platform<\/a><\/p>\n

The search for Nancy has passed the five-month mark.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The officials searching for Nancy Guthrie made a catastrophic mistake in the early days of the investigation, according to a new report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2697,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-news"],"yoast_head":"\nThe catastrophic mistake Nancy Guthrie investigation suffered in its early days: report - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2698\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The catastrophic mistake Nancy Guthrie investigation suffered in its early days: report - 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