Six months after 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie vanished from her home near Tucson, Arizona, the Pima County Sheriff’s Office has made public two ransom notes sent to a local television station. The disappearance is being treated as an abduction, but there have been no arrests, no confirmed sightings and no answers.
The first letter, received on February 2, was addressed directly to Savannah Guthrie and her family. It read: “Hello Savannah, we have your mother Nancy. She is safe but scared. She will be held for ransom and once payment is received she will be released unharmed.” The anonymous writer demanded $4 million (£3m) in Bitcoin within days, warning the ransom would rise to $6 million (£4.5m) if payment was delayed. The letter continued: “Your mother is aware of this and her life is in your hands. Do not play games, law enforcement will not be able to help you.” It ended with what investigators believe was knowledge only someone connected to the crime would have: a white smartwatch on Nancy’s bedroom floor and a damaged floodlight in the garden.
Second letter claims she ‘perished’
Just four days later, a second letter painted an altogether darker picture. It read: “Guthrie Family, we did not fully grasp the seriousness of her physical condition. We never intended to hurt her, that was not our intention. She perished shortly after she was taken. We believe it was heart related. She is buried in nature now. Nothing you could have done could have changed the outcome… We are truly sorry.”
Despite the disturbing claim, detectives stressed they have not been able to verify that Nancy has died and continue to treat the investigation as an active missing person case. Nancy, who required daily medication, was last seen after relatives dropped her home on the evening of January 31. Alarm was raised the following morning when she failed to join a friend for their regular virtual Sunday church service.
Savannah Guthrie’s appeals
In the days after the letters were received, Savannah made an emotional public appeal directly to whoever had taken her mother. “We received your message and we understand,” she said in an Instagram video posted on February 7. “We beg you now to return our mother to us… This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.” Earlier this week, the Today presenter renewed that plea, urging those responsible to “do the right thing” and reveal where her mother is.
Police have released few details about potential suspects, although earlier this year they published images showing a masked individual covering the doorbell camera outside Nancy’s home before she disappeared. Investigators have also revealed that a glove recovered in the neighbourhood yielded no usable DNA evidence.
Unusual tactic with precedent
The decision to publish the ransom notes is an unusual investigative tactic, but not without precedent. Perhaps the most famous example came during the hunt for the so-called Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, whose manifesto was published by US newspapers in 1995. His brother recognised the writing style and alerted the FBI, ultimately leading to Kaczynski’s arrest.
Now, detectives hope somebody reading the Guthrie letters will have a similar moment of recognition. The Pima County Sheriff’s Office said it hopes the author’s distinctive writing style could provide the breakthrough. “A friend, family member, coworker, classmate, or acquaintance may recognise these patterns of expression and possess information that could help identify the individual responsible,” the department said.
