{"id":219073,"date":"2026-08-01T19:30:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T19:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/letters-sent-to-nancy-guthries-family-after-her-disappearance-are-released-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-08-01T19:30:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T19:30:11","slug":"letters-sent-to-nancy-guthries-family-after-her-disappearance-are-released-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/letters-sent-to-nancy-guthries-family-after-her-disappearance-are-released-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Letters sent to Nancy Guthrie\u2019s family after her disappearance are released – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

news Alerts
There are no new alerts at this time
Two ransom notes purportedly sent by those who kidnapped Nancy Guthrie in Arizona<\/a> earlier this year were released Friday by local authorities hoping to generate new leads in the case.
The second note, sent Feb. 6 to a Tucson news outlet, states that Guthrie, 84, died shortly after she was taken.
\u201cWe believe it was heart related,\u201d the note says. \u201cShe is buried in nature now. Nothing you could have done could have changed the outcome. We want your family to know this and hope you all can find peace. We are truly sorry.\u201d
The 84-year-old mother of \u201cTODAY\u201d co-host Savannah Guthrie <\/strong>went missing from her home near Tucson early Feb. 1. The FBI has said her disappearance is being investigated as a kidnapping for ransom.
The first note, sent on Feb. 2 to the same outlet, a CBS affiliate, stated that a white smartwatch was on the floor at the foot of her bed and that the flood light in the backyard had been destroyed.
That note demanded a payment of $4 million in bitcoin by Feb. 5.
It provided a deadline of 5 p.m. Feb. 9 and raised the ransom amount to $6 million if the payment was not immediately made. The note warned that Nancy Guthrie was aware that \u201cher life is in your hands.\u201d
\u201cDo not play games, law enforcement will not be able to help you,\u201d the note states.
In a news release accompanying the notes, the Pima County Sheriff\u2019s Department said Friday it was releasing the letters in an effort to generate new leads.
The notes reveal a \u201cunique linguistic style\u201d with distinctive word choice, syntax and phraseology, the department said, and provide \u201cvaluable insight into the person\u2019s mindset, motives, and the evolution of their tone over time.\u201d
\u201cThe distinctive linguistic characteristics may be recognizable to someone who knows or has interacted with the notes\u2019 writer,\u201d the release says. \u201cA friend, family member, coworker, classmate or acquaintance may recognize these patterns of expression and possess information that could help identify the individual responsible.\u201d
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told NBC News on Friday that the notes were released in an effort to reach whoever knows the person or people responsible.
\u201cAll the investigators agree: There is somebody out there that knows something. They know who did this,\u201d Nanos said.
\u201cWe want to hear from those who know who did this,\u201d he said. \u201cIt could be a family member, it could be a brother, a sister, a friend, a neighbor. We just want to hear from you. And I think the notes speak for themselves.\u201d
On Saturday, the sheriff\u2019s department released a video of Nanos addressing the six-month mark since Guthrie\u2019s abduction.
\u201cA lot of people have called us with information, but we also know a lot of people are hesitant to do so,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd so I hope that by constantly reminding the public, we\u2019re here, we\u2019re not going anywhere. If you have information, someone knows who this person is.\u201d
\u201cSomeone knows something. We want that person to call us. We we need that phone call,\u201d he added.
The release underscores the state of the investigation. Authorities do not have any suspects or leads of significance, so they\u2019re requesting the public\u2019s help.
Such a release is not without precedent. For years, the FBI struggled with releasing the writings of an unnamed suspect who became known as \u201cUnabomber.\u201d
That suspect had asked for his writings to be published. Following the publication of his screed, family members of the suspect now known to be Ted Kaczynski, alerted the FBI through an attorney after examining other writings from Kaczynski sent to the family over the years.
That lead, which was one of 50,000 the FBI received over the course of that case, ultimately led to Kaczynski\u2019s shed in the mountains of Montana. He was also the 2,416th<\/sup> person to be examined by the FBI in the case.
In the Guthrie case, authorities redacted a line that references how to get payment to the person or people who sent the note, officials said.
There is a law enforcement reason for that redaction, according to the officials.
Former FBI supervisory special agent Jason Pack said that while there isn\u2019t enough text in the notes to guess the author\u2019s age or schooling, they appear to have been written by a native English speaker who uses an idiom and small connecting words appropriately at a length that\u2019s hard to fake.
Savannah Guthrie shares new plea to bring her mother home
\u201cAnd he writes like someone who spends his day sending business email,\u201d Pack said. \u201c\u2018Money in the amount of. Payment that will need to be paid by. Wanting to have this completed.\u2019 That is office language, and it sits strangely against the threats, which sound like they came off a television screen.\u201d
\u201cIf you knew this man, that is the part you would recognize,\u201d Pack said. \u201cNot his vocabulary. His habits.\u201d
The notes\u2019 release came days after Savannah Guthrie made an emotional plea online to the person who may have taken her mother, urging them to \u201cdo the right thing\u201d and \u201ctell us where to look for her.\u201d
\u201cI\u2019m coming on today with a very specific message,\u201d Savannah Guthrie said in a video posted on social media.
\u201cIt has been months since our mom was taken from us. Our family is in agony. We are in a nightmare that will not end. Nothing about our situation has changed. We have done our part, and we will never stop looking for her. We will always ache for her and feel that hole in our hearts.\u201d
\u201cThe world can be a cruel and unforgiving place, and I know that you have tried to do things the right way,\u201d she said. \u201cSo I am asking you \u2014 begging you \u2014 to do the right thing now. Make the right choice. Help us find her. Tell us where to look for her. I truly believe it is never too late to do the right thing. Help us bring this situation to an end.\u201d
On Saturday, the \u201cTODAY\u201d co-host shared an image of her mother on her Instagram account, along with a lengthy plea for information \u201cto find out what happened to her, so that we can give her the dignity of a proper goodbye \u2014 a celebration of her remarkable life that she so deserves.\u201d
\u201cWe are begging for help. We are desperate. We need someone to come forward,\u201d she wrote. \u201cSomeone knows something. Someone suspects something. Someone recognizes the writing in the ransom demand notes. Someone has noticed something different, strange, troubling or just unusual \u2014 perhaps with someone they deeply love.\u201d
\u201cPerhaps they are afraid to come forward. Perhaps they are conflicted. Perhaps they are angry or upset for being in this situation,\u201d she added. \u201cThere is a way out \u2014 to tell what you know. You can do so anonymously. The reward is available. There is a way to end this situation and do the right thing.\u201d
The \u201cTODAY\u201d co-host also appeared to criticize the true crime influencers and online sleuths<\/a> who have been covering every update to her mother\u2019s case.
\u201cIf you are following this story for entertainment or for profit, you are not on her side \u2014 you are part of the harm perpetrated against her,\u201d she wrote.
She concluded the message, telling her 2.1 million followers that she and her family \u201cwill never stop looking for answers \u2014 and we will never stop looking for the light.\u201d
\u201cWe will always be hoping and praying and believing in the best of our world \u2014 in spite of circumstance,\u201d she wrote. \u201cThis is what our faith makes possible.\u201d
\u201cPlease. Bring her home,\u201d she said.
Anyone with information is urged to contact 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324). The Guthrie family is also offering a $1 million reward<\/a> for the return of her mother.
Tim Stelloh is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
Tom Winter is NBC\u2019s National Law Enforcement and Intelligence Correspondent.
Andrew Blankstein is an investigative reporter\u00a0for NBC News. He\u00a0covers the Western U.S., specializing in crime, courts and homeland security.\u00a0
Michael Kosnar is the Justice Department Producer for NBC News.
I\u2019m a reporter on NBC News\u2019 breaking news team, covering crime, extreme weather, pop culture and more. I recently covered Hurricane Milton, which devastated the Tampa, Florida, metropolitan area, and the student-led protests at Columbia University.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

news AlertsThere are no new alerts at this timeTwo ransom notes purportedly sent by those who kidnapped Nancy Guthrie in Arizona earlier this year were released Friday by local authorities hoping to generate new leads in the case.The second note, sent Feb. 6 to a Tucson news outlet, states that Guthrie, 84, died shortly after […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":219074,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-219073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-us","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219073\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/219074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}