Arizona sheriff releases ransom notes in Nancy Guthrie disappearance, contradicting earlier statement

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos announced Friday that two ransom notes related to the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie have been made public, a development that conflicts with his remarks to CBS News the day before, when he said no note indicating she was dead had been found. The notes, originally sent to a Tucson CBS affiliate in February, were released in hopes that distinctive wording might help identify the author.

The first note, dated a day after Guthrie was reported missing, addressed Savannah Guthrie by name, demanded a $4 million bitcoin ransom and promised to return her mother to a "safe drop-off location" within 12 hours. It referenced specific details such as Guthrie’s white Apple Watch and floodlights on her porch, prompting the FBI to treat it as credible. A second note, sent four days later, claimed the victim had died of a heart-related issue and was "buried in nature now," dropping any ransom demand.

Retired FBI supervisory agents Lance Leising and Jason Pack commented on the release. Leising said the delayed public disclosure appeared "a little haphazard" and suggested doubts about the notes’ authenticity, noting past arrests for hoax communications. Pack observed that the second note’s lack of a monetary demand was unusual for a financially motivated crime and speculated that the same individual likely authored both messages.

When asked about the notes, Nanos stated, "> Those hostage notes: Are they valid, do we believe they're valid? We think every one of them's valid until we show otherwise."

Savannah Guthrie used Instagram on the six-month anniversary of her mother’s disappearance to urge anyone who might recognize the writing to come forward, saying, "> There is a way to end this situation and do the right thing."

Nanos later posted on social media, emphasizing the investigation’s ongoing effort: "> We're still here, we're not going away. If you could just see the team working, you would see the energy, the concern. They're fired up, and we'll continue to work this case hard."

Authorities have not disclosed the origin of the emails, which appear to have been sent from a masked IP address, and the investigation remains active.