It’s been around five months since “TODAY” host Savannah Guthrie’s mother, Nancy, went missing from her home near Tucson, Ariz. This week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Phoenix field office said some of the ransom notes received regarding the case are still under investigation.
“The FBI and its task force partners have received several ransom notes over the course of this investigation,” said a statement posted to Facebook. “Some have been deemed to be extortion attempts without legitimacy. Other ransom demands may potentially be legitimate and are still being investigated as such. This case continues to be investigated as a kidnapping for ransom case.”
Nancy Guthrie is 84 years old, and there have been concerns that she would not survive this long if she had been kidnapped. Savannah and her family have pleaded for Nancy’s safe return in social media posts, even offering a $1 million reward.
The FBI Phoenix office post came after a Reuters article that reported that “all three kidnapping-related messages that have surfaced in news media reports” about Guthrie had been deemed fake, citing an unnamed FBI official. Reuters also said Angelica Carrillo, a spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriff's Department – the lead agency investigating the case – said the case remained under investigation as of this week.
TMZ, a news outlet that said it received ransom notes related to the Guthrie case reported that an FBI official told its team that the Reuters report was incorrect. One of the notes was sent to TMZ just last week and whoever sent it requested one Bitcoin, said the outlet.
In May, FBI Director Kash Patel criticized the local authorities on the case in an interview.
