{"id":478481,"date":"2026-02-19T20:03:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T20:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/478481\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T20:03:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T20:03:12","slug":"breaking-down-ransom-notes-in-nancy-guthrie-case-what-has-been-revealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/478481\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking Down Ransom Notes in Nancy Guthrie Case: What Has Been Revealed?"},"content":{"rendered":"

New details have continued to emerge amid the disappearance of Today<\/a> show coanchor Savannah Guthrie<\/a>\u2019s mom, Nancy Guthrie.<\/a><\/p>\n

News broke on February 1 that Nancy, 84, had been reported missing by a family member who called 911. She was last seen one day prior by daughter Annie Guthrie. (Nancy shared daughters Annie and Savannah, 54, and son Camron <\/a>with late husband Charles Guthrie, who died in 1988 after a heart attack.)<\/p>\n

While Savannah has been absent from the morning show amid the search for Nancy, she and her siblings have since shared several statements via social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been two weeks since our mom was taken and I just wanted to come on and say that we still have hope and we still believe and I wanted to say to whoever has her or knows where she is, that it\u2019s never too late,\u201d Savannah said in an emotional Instagram video on February 15. \u201cAnd you\u2019re not lost or alone. And it is never too late to do the right thing and we are here. And we believe and we believe in the essential goodness of every human being. And it\u2019s never too late.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scroll down to see what the ransom notes have revealed:<\/p>\n

Ransom Note Mentions Nancy Guthrie\u2019s Apple Watch<\/p>\n

After news broke of an alleged ransom note sent to local outlets, Savannah Guthrie and her siblings addressed the message.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a family, we are doing everything that we can. We are ready to talk. However, we live in a world where voices and images are easily manipulated,\u201d she said in a February 4 Instagram video. \u201cWe need to know without a doubt that she is alive and that you have her. We want to hear from you, and we are ready to listen. Please, reach out to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phoenix Special Agent in Charge Heith Janke shared in a press conference the next day that the alleged ransom note made a demand for 5 p.m. and included an alternate date.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we start to look at what the deadlines were in the note,\u201d Janke said on February 5. \u201cFirst, I think [it] was 5 p.m. today, and then it had a second deadline after that. So we are continuing in a normal kidnapping case, there would be contact by now trying to discuss that. But those are the time frames we\u2019re looking at as we move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf a transfer wasn\u2019t made, then I think a second demand was for next Monday,\u201d Janke continued. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to go beyond that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Janke mentioned that the ransom note mentioned Nancy\u2019s Apple Watch and a damaged floodlight on her property outside of Tucson. TMZ founder Harvey Levin on February 5 that the outlet received a ransom note that made mention of \u201cthe placement of the Apple Watch,\u201d which he noted \u201chas not come out\u201d in the press as yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a deadline at 5 o\u2019clock today, and there is a change in \u2014 if this is a kidnapper \u2014 what the kidnapper may want,\u201d Levin told CNN\u2019s Erin Burnett, adding that a second deadline, set for February 9, \u201cis far more consequential.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt like somebody means business. When you read it, it\u2019s very detailed,\u201d he said, explaining that the email described Nancy as being \u201cOK, but scared\u201d and said she was \u201caware of the letter and the demands\u201d made in it.<\/p>\n

Levin claimed that \u201cthe letter says you will have no way of contacting me \u2014 this is the only contact.\u201d In another interview with CNN\u2019s Anderson Cooper, Levin shared, \u201cIt specifically says there will be no further communication \u2026 no negotiation, no communication.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the 5 p.m. deadline on February 5, Camron made a video and said, \u201cWhoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We haven\u2019t heard anything directly. We need you to reach out and we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward. But first, we have to know if you have our mom. We want to talk to you and we are waiting for contact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Savannah Guthrie and Siblings Agree to \u2018Pay\u2019 After Ransom Note<\/p>\n

Local news outlet KOLD said it received a second message in connection with Nancy Guthrie\u2019s disappearance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe FBI and Pima County Sheriff\u2019s Department are aware of a new message regarding Nancy Guthrie,\u201d Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said in a statement via X on February 6. \u201cInvestigators are actively inspecting the information provided in the message for its authenticity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile this is one new piece of information, the FBI and the Pima County Sheriff\u2019s Department are still asking anyone with tips to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI,\u201d Nanos\u2019 latest statement continued. \u201cThe FBI continues to offer a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the recovery of Nancy Guthrie and\/or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next day, Savannah Guthrie and her siblings then released a video appearing to address the note.
\u201cWe received your message and we understand,\u201d Savannah said. \u201cWe beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us and we will pay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ransom Note Says \u2018Time Is More Than Relevant\u2019<\/p>\n

A third ransom note obtained by TMZ appeared to be from someone offering information about Nancy Guthrie\u2019s disappearance. The note claimed to have unsuccessfully reached Savannah Guthrie and her siblings by email and text. The alleged message read, \u201cIf they want the name of the individual involved then I want 1 Bitcoin to the following wallet. Time is more than relevant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ransom Note Claims to Have Seen Nancy Guthrie \u2018Days Ago\u2019<\/p>\n

TMZ obtained a fourth email<\/a> on February 16 from the person climbing to know who kidnapped Nancy Guthrie. The alleged email read, \u201cI know what I saw 5 days ago south of the border and I was told to shut up so I know who he is and that was definitely Nancy with them.\u201d The message also had the same Bitcoin account as the three previous ransom notes.<\/p>\n

Ransom Note Described as \u2018Graphic and Chilling\u2019<\/p>\n

Days after the fourth ransom note, TMZ reportedly received another requesting millions of dollars in cryptocurrency. However, the note received on February 18 demanded to be paid in a cryptocurrency besides Bitcoin.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt is a really sophisticated note. I had to get someone to help translate it for me. It involves a demand for crypto \u2014 not Bitcoin,\u201d TMZ founder Harvey Levin told CNN\u2019s Erin Burnett OutFront at the time, explaining that the demands are more specific. \u201cThe money will automatically go into this account if certain things happen. It actually involves the media, too, in terms of what the media puts out. But it\u2019s a very sophisticated way of doing it where one thing triggers another, [which] triggers another. It\u2019s beyond my level of knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Levin described the note as \u201ca little more graphic and chilling,\u201d adding, \u201cThe previous one was also pretty chilling, but the way this is described is more so.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked if the new note contains proof of life, Levin replied, \u201cBy inference, they do. They don\u2019t say it directly, but by inference, they do, in terms of consequences.\u201d Levin claimed that the FBI is looking into the note.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New details have continued to emerge amid the disappearance of Today show coanchor Savannah Guthrie\u2019s mom, Nancy Guthrie.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":478482,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4,450,91,451,3,452,453,40984],"class_list":["post-478481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-celebrity-news","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories","tag-true-crime"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=478481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478481\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/478482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=478481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=478481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=478481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}