FBI investigates whether Nancy Guthrie ransom notes are legitimate or ‘extortion attempts’
Investigators with the FBI are working to verify the authenticity of “several” ransom notes received in the five months since Nancy Guthrie, “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother, disappeared. The 84-year-old was kidnapped from her Arizona home in the early morning hours of Feb. 1.
So far, investigators believe the first two notes, sent in the two weeks after Guthrie was abducted, are legitimate. They say they’re still working to determine if others are, but have no clues to indicate that they are. Others, they say, are just believed to be attempts at extortion.
The FBI did not specify how many notes have come in, but Tucson TV station KOLD says it received two — one demanding millions of dollars in Bitcoin for Guthrie’s return and another that said she had died. TMZ says it also received a note.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department also issued a statement saying “every tip and lead is taken seriously” and that its detectives “continue to work in coordination with the FBI.”
What we know about the suspect
Investigators were able recover home security video of the night Guthrie vanished without her phone or essential medications, but so far, have not been able to identify the masked intruder.
After a forensic review of the footage, they determined it’s a man who’s between 5’9” and 5’10” with an average build who was carrying a black 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack.
The masked man was wearing gloves and appeared to tamper with and disable the home’s doorbell camera around 1:47 a.m., investigators say. Gloves were recovered at the scene, but authorities have not stated whether they were linked to the suspect.
Separate surveillance video obtained by TMZ shows a man carrying backpacks near a brick wall roughly five miles from Guthrie’s home at about 1:53 a.m. on Feb. 1 — just minutes after her doorbell camera was disabled. Authorities have not confirmed any connection to the case, however.
In the months since Guthrie was taken, 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
