THE ransom notes allegedly written by Nancy Guthrie’s abductor have been revealed six months after she disappeared from her Arizona home.
Nancy, the mother of Today host Savannah Guthrie, vanished in the middle of the night on February 1, and has yet to be seen or heard from since despite desperate searches from local investigators, the FBI and volunteer groups.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department, who has been leading the investigation into the 84-year-old’s case, shared an update on Friday with new details on the eve of six months since Nancy was reported missing.
Nancy was dropped off at her home on the night of January 31, and since then officials have combed through surveillance footage of a masked man outside her home, DNA evidence, dozens of tips and several ransom notes sent to media outlets.
Two ransom notes sent to local Arizona outlet KOLD were released nearly in full on Friday, one of which was addressed to Savannah, saying, “We have your mother Nancy. She is safe but scared.”
The note demanded $4million be sent in bitcoin by a certain date, and if it was late, the amount would be increased to $6million.
“If payment is not recieved [sic] by the last deadline on Monday the 9th at 5PM, she will be killed,” the ransom note said.
“Your mother is aware of this and her life is in your hands.”
The writer of the note told Savannah she would not be able to contact them again and there would be no negotiation.
The note also included some identifying information: “She had a white smart watch on the floor of the foot of her bed and the white flood light in backyard was destroyed.”
The note was first sent to the local CBS affiliate on February 2, and a second note was sent on February 6.
The second ransom note was addressed to the “Guthrie Family,” where the author said “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.”
The note said they believed Nancy died of a “heart related” issue, adding “She is buried in nature now.”
Authorities said the notes reveal “distinctive patterns of word
choice, syntax, and phraseology that reflect the writer’s unique linguistic style.”
The ransom notes also provide “valuable” insight into the person’s motives, mindset and “the evolution of their tone over time.”
Officials said they believe someone may be able to recognize the linguistic characteristics written by the notes author, such as a friend, family member, classmate, coworker or acquaintance.
“It is not too late to come forward. Regardless of how insignificant you think your information may be, or whether you think we are already aware of it, please contact us,” officials said.
Officials said they know there are people who are familiar with the unidentified man who may have saw changes in his behavior around the time of Nancy’s disappearance, such as unexplained physical injuries, sudden departures near her house and vehicle cleaning or repairs.
Officials also said the man could have had unexplained interest or disinterest in Nancy Guthrie’s neighborhood and the investigation.
In the Pima County Sheriff’s Office update, they discussed footage recovered from Nancy’s home that showed an “an unidentified male who knows what happened to Nancy.”
“Two videos recovered from Nancy’s doorbell camera may be from two separate days,” investigators said.
“These videos are critical to our understanding of the unidentified male’s behaviors and choices.”
Officials said the videos indicate how the man prepared for the events that unfolded on the night of January 31 to February 1.
News about details in the ransom notes where the author said “we are truly sorry” and that Nancy was “buried in nature now,” was revealed in June.
Savannah issued yet another plea while on air hosting the Today show, asking anyone with any new information to come forward.
“I just want to take the opportunity to ask people, to really to beg people to come forward. Somebody knows something,” she said.
“This is a news story today that is on your radar but this is the life that my sister lives, that I live, my brother lives, our extended families live, our children live every day. We are in agony.”
The Pima County Sheriff’s Office has maintained that the Guthrie investigation remains active and ongoing.
Guthrie appeared to have been abducted from her Arizona home in the middle of the night, hours after her daughter, Annie, and Annie’s husband Tommaso Cioni, dropped her off just before 10pm.
Dozens of questions have been left unanswered in the months since she vanished.
Since then, Savannah has returned to work at the Today Show and searches have been launched near the US border by a volunteer group in Mexico following up on anonymous tips.
Pima County sheriffs had been testing hair recovered from Guthrie’s home, but recently revealed they could not obtain a useable DNA profile.
“It came back … there’s no DNA,” Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told Fox News Digital.
“But does that mean the hair isn’t that of the suspect? We won’t know that till we have the suspect’s hair. You don’t just destroy it.
“There’s other things that hair may prove valuable for, but right now it was just about, ‘Is there any DNA there?’ And the answer was no.”
