{"id":421383,"date":"2026-08-02T03:45:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T03:45:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/421383\/"},"modified":"2026-08-02T03:45:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T03:45:26","slug":"we-never-intended-to-hurt-her-ransom-notes-offer-new-details-in-nancy-guthrie-kidnapping-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/421383\/","title":{"rendered":"‘We never intended to hurt her.’ Ransom notes offer new details in Nancy Guthrie kidnapping case"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Investigators on Friday released two notes apparently sent by the individuals who kidnapped Nancy Guthrie from her Tucson home in February.<\/p>\n

Federal and local law enforcement have worked for nearly six months to find Guthrie<\/a>, the 84-year-old mother of \u201cToday\u201d show co-host Savannah Guthrie, without success. <\/p>\n

For months, The Times and other outlets have released portions of the ransom notes based on information from law enforcement sources, but Friday marked the first time the letters were fully made public. Their release comes as authorities continue to try to drum up leads in the case, which garnered national attention. <\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

The Pima County Sheriff\u2019s Department has released two ransom notes sent to Nancy Guthrie\u2019s family.<\/p>\n

(Pima County Sheriff\u2019s Department)<\/p>\n

\u201cIn some cases, there are times when people who may have knowledge initially do not come forward. This may be due to their close relationships with those who might be involved as well as a concern for their own safety, reputation, or standing in the community and amongst their friends,\u201d the Pima County Sheriff\u2019s Department wrote in a news release. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe recognize relationships and loyalties change over time as do people and their perspectives. It is not too late to come forward. Regardless of how insignificant you think your information may be, or whether you think we are already aware of it, please contact us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first note, sent to television news station KOLD, shortly after Guthrie\u2019s disappearance on Feb. 1 was addressed to Savannah and demanded $4 million in bitcoin by 5 p.m. on Feb. 5. If the deadline was not met, the writer warns, the amount would be increased to $6 million to be delivered by Feb. 9. The letter states the kidnappers will hold her for a maximum of seven days.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf payment is not recieved by the last deadline on Monday the 9th at 5PM, she will be killed. Your mother is aware of this and her life is in your hands. It is in the best interest of everyone to have this completed as soon as possible. You will not be able to contact me from here on out, there will be no negotiation. Do not play games, law enforcement will not be able to help you,\u201d the letter states.<\/p>\n

The FBI\u2019s Phoenix office said some ransom notes relating to the February disappearance of Nancy Guthrie were potentially \u201clegitimate,\u201d while others have been discounted as \u201cextortion attempts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis case continues to be investigated as a kidnapping for ransom case,\u201d the FBI Phoenix office said in a post on X<\/a>, noting that law enforcement had received \u201cseveral ransom notes over the course of this investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The note released Friday gained credibility with investigators because of the specifics it contained including a reference to a white smart watch left on the floor at the foot of Guthrie\u2019s bed and a broken white flood light in the backyard. <\/p>\n

The second note purportedly from the kidnappers also arrived as a news tip to KOLD saying that Guthrie had died likely from her heart issues. It was addressed to the entire Guthrie family. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe did not fully grasp the seriousness of her physical condition,\u201d the letter states. \u201cWe never intended to hurt her, that was not our intention. She perished shortly after she was taken.\u201d <\/p>\n

The writer states that Guthrie is now \u201cburied in nature.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing you could have done could have changed the outcome,\u201d the letter states. \u201cWe want your family to know this and hope you can find peace. We are truly sorry.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

The Pima County Sheriff\u2019s Department has released two ransom notes sent to Nancy Guthrie\u2019s family.<\/p>\n

(Pima County Sheriff\u2019s Department)<\/p>\n

Guthrie disappeared from her Tucson suburb home Feb. 1. She was last seen the previous night after she was dropped off at her home by family around 9:45 p.m. <\/p>\n

With Guthrie missing, the FBI extracted and released doorbell camera images <\/a>of an armed and masked man outside her home on the morning of her disappearance. The FBI has labeled that unknown man as a suspect in the abduction. <\/p>\n

Over the course of months, investigators made a couple of detentions and conducted a few searches as the Guthrie family made a series of emotional pleas to the kidnappers. <\/p>\n

On Monday, Savannah Guthrie posted another video on social media asking for help finding her mother saying \u201cwe will never stop looking for her\u201d and that their family has been \u201cin agony.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cMake the right choice. Help us find her. Tell us where to look for her,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe world can be a cruel and unforgiving place,\u201d she continued. \u201cI truly believe it is never too late to do right thing. Help us bring this situation to an end. For all of us. No matter where we\u2019ve been and what we\u2019ve done, I believe there is always a way home.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Investigators on Friday released two notes apparently sent by the individuals who kidnapped Nancy Guthrie from her Tucson…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":160701,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[80765,1436,26902,1055,45043,9831,2424,3816,82482,48,52,51,1838,11788,47,50,49,3906,78113,224,80006],"class_list":["post-421383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-arizona-home","tag-case","tag-disappearance","tag-fbi","tag-feb","tag-first-time","tag-friday","tag-investigator","tag-kidnapper","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-letter","tag-local-law-enforcement","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-month","tag-nancy-guthrie","tag-p-m","tag-ransom-note"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=421383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421383\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=421383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=421383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=421383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}