Savannah Guthrie responds after reports on ransom note claiming her mother died
A second message sent days after Nancy Guthrie disappeared said the 84-year-old died shortly after her abduction, and the newly disclosed details prompted an emotional response Tuesday from her daughter, “Today” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie.
The contents of the note had not previously been made public. Reporting by ABC News, NBC News, CNN and NewsNation indicates investigators believed it was one of two messages sent in the days after Guthrie vanished that may have come directly from the people responsible for her kidnapping.
Guthrie disappeared from her home near Tucson on Feb. 1. More than four months later, she has not been found.
Two notes drew investigators’ attention
The disappearance generated a flood of emails, ransom demands and messages claiming knowledge of the case. Authorities later determined many of them were fake.
Of the many messages sent after Guthrie disappeared, investigators focused on two they believed could have come from the abductors.
The first claimed Guthrie was alive and demanded $4 million in bitcoin for her release.
The second delivered a very different message. Sources familiar with the investigation say the author wrote that Guthrie died shortly after being taken and was buried “in nature.”
The message reportedly said her death was accidental. Airmail reported that it also included details about the night she disappeared and was linked to the same IP address used in an earlier communication.
Unlike the first note, it did not seek additional money, offer the return of Guthrie’s body or include an apology.
The family’s response
Shortly after the second note was received, Savannah Guthrie released a video alongside her brother and sister directed at the person responsible.
“We received your message and we understand,” Guthrie said. “We beg you now to return our mother to us.”
The family ended the appeal with a pledge to pay for her return.
At the time, they did not disclose what prompted the video.
The contents of the notes remained private for months after investigators and the Guthrie family asked media outlets that received them not to disclose details publicly. The goal was to preserve information that could help authenticate any future communication from the abductor.
Savannah Guthrie responds
Savannah Guthrie addressed the new reporting Tuesday on NBC’s “Today,” fighting back tears as she spoke about her mother’s disappearance the the reports surrounding the second note.
“I’m not involved in our coverage, but I can’t pretend I’m not here,” Guthried told viewers.
She said the family remains focused on finding answers and urged anyone with information to contact investigators.
“We are in agony,” Guthrie said. “We need your help.”
The public appeal marked Guthrie’s first comments since details from the second note became public.
Four months later, few answers
No arrests have been announced and no suspect has been publicly identified.
In February, the FBI released doorbell-camera images showing a masked man outside Guthrie’s home around the time she disappeared. Investigators later identified him as a suspect and asked the public for help identifying him.
The FBI said the man was between 5-foot-9 and 5-foot-10, of average build, and carrying a black Ozark Trail backpack.
The search has generated thousands of tips but no public breakthrough.
In March, Savannah Guthrie acknowledged how little her family knew about what happened.
“Honestly, we don’t know anything,” she told former Today co-host Hoda Kotb.
More than 20 weeks after Nancy Guthrie disappeared, no arrests have been announced, no suspect has been publicly identified, and investigators still have not determined what happened after she was taken.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
