The FBI in Washington did not immediately respond to questions about the ransom notes, including whether both messages sent to the Tucson station have been deemed legitimate.<\/p>\n
In releasing the notes, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said “we believe these distinctive linguistic characteristics may be recognisable to someone who knows or has interacted with the notes’ writer”.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/in-releasing-the-notes-the-pima-county-sheriffs-department-s-K34XFKE3NBC6FGVVO7YCA2HTYA.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said “we believe these distinctive linguistic characteristics may be recognisable to someone who knows or has interacted with the notes’ writer”. (Source: Pima County Sheriff’s Department.)<\/p>\n
The first note, sent February 2, said Guthrie was safe but scared and would be released unharmed once her captors received US$4 million (NZ$6.8 million) in cryptocurrency, with the ransom amount increasing if the first demand was not met.<\/p>\n
It said Guthrie would be released within 12 hours if the payment was received. It also included a threat to kill her if the ransom wasn\u2019t paid.<\/p>\n
“Your mother is aware of this and her life is in your hands,” the first note read. “It is in the best interest of everyone to have this completed as soon as possible.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/in-releasing-the-notes-the-pima-county-sheriffs-department-s-HCV2CSJAXZGGPIX6MN22Q62VFA.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said “we believe these distinctive linguistic characteristics may be recognisable to someone who knows or has interacted with the notes’ writer”. (Source: Pima County Sheriff’s Department.)<\/p>\n
The second note was sent February 6 and said Guthrie died shortly after she was taken. “She is buried in nature now,” it said. “Nothing you could have done could have changed the outcome.” The note ended with an apology: “We are truly sorry.”<\/p>\n
Investigators hope the writing itself will help identify its author<\/p>\n
The sheriff’s department said the notes reveal a distinctive pattern of word choices and provide insight into the writer’s mindset. The agency said someone who knows the notes’ writer may recognise the patterns.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a-memorial-grows-outside-the-home-of-nancy-guthrie-the-missi-OFIWOTKZBVHTLF227ETV4NKFDU.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
A memorial grows outside the home of Nancy Guthrie, the missing mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
Authorities similarly used a suspect\u2019s own writings as a tool to apprehend Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski, branded the “Unabomber” by the FBI. Kaczynski, who killed three people and injured 23 others with mail bombs over a 17-year span, pressured The Washington Post, in conjunction with The New York Times, to publish his 35,000-word manifesto in 1995. Federal authorities encouraged its publication, leading Kaczynski\u2019s brother and sister-in-law to recognize the syntax and anti-technology themes and tip off the FBI, bringing to a close the agency\u2019s longest and costliest investigation at the time.<\/p>\n
In a statement Friday, the sheriff\u2019s department also appealed to people who may know something about the case, saying it may be difficult to come forward due to a personal relationship with someone involved or just for their own safety.<\/p>\n
“We recognise relationships and loyalties change over time as do people and their perspectives,” the sheriff\u2019s department wrote. “It is not too late to come forward.<\/p>\n
Authorities say new evidence suggests the kidnapping was planned<\/p>\n
The sheriff\u2019s office also said Friday that two videos recovered from Guthrie\u2019s doorbell camera might be from two separate days and indicate an unidentified male prepared ahead of when Guthrie was taken. Authorities are seeking information on anyone who was behaving differently, changed their physical appearance, suddenly left the Tucson area, or had a noticeable or unexplained interest or disinterest in the case.<\/p>\n
Investigators have said for more than a week that they believe Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n
“Investigators continue to pursue every available technological and investigative lead,” the sheriff\u2019s office said. “However, community members remain a vital resource as we seek to provide answers for Nancy\u2019s family.”<\/p>\n
The FBI had released surveillance videos of a masked person who authorities said appeared to tamper with a camera on Nancy Guthrie\u2019s front porch and block it with a plant. They described the person as a male about 1.75m tall.<\/p>\n
On February 4, Savannah Guthrie and her siblings first shared a video statement saying they were aware of media reports of a purported ransom letter and that they were ready to talk and listen, but they wanted proof that their mother was alive. Camron Guthrie, the brother of the Today co-anchor, said the following day that the family had not heard directly from whoever took their mother.<\/p>\n
A day after the second note was sent, Savannah Guthrie said on February 7 that the siblings received a message and “understand,” without sharing details. She said they were begging for their mother to be returned to them. “We will pay,” Guthrie said.<\/p>\n
The family has continued to share their pleas for information in videos posted to social media.<\/p>\n
Two men who were previously detained have filed a lawsuit<\/p>\n
Also, two men detained and released early in the investigation into Nancy Guthrie\u2019s disappearance are seeking a combined US$3 million (NZ$5 million) against a southern Arizona sheriff\u2019s department. In a legal claim, they say they were wrongfully held by law enforcement.<\/p>\n
The claim made Thursday against Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos\u2019 department centres on the separate detentions of Carlos Alfredo Palazuelos and Daniel Maddow on February 10. It said they were released hours later but have suffered from having been mentioned in the investigation.<\/p>\n
Nanos\u2019 office declined to comment on the notice of claim, a necessary precursor to filing a lawsuit against government entities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Authorities released an early ransom note in the investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie in hopes that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":554245,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[67,42,43,64,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-554244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-crime-and-justice","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-north-america","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=554244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554244\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/554245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=554244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=554244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=554244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}