Savannah Guthrie pleads claim that ransom note listed mother’s death
“Today” anchor Savannah Guthrie made an emotional on-air appeal after receiving a ransom note that reportedly left her mother dead.
Another demand letter has surfaced in the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping case.
TMZ reported on Friday, June 26, that it had received a new letter from someone previously in contact with the outlet, claiming to have a video taken on a phone of one of the suspects and Guthrie in a “secure location.”
The person has the same email and Bitcoin address as the person who sent Savannah Guthrie’s mother a few weeks after her disappearance, the outlet said, adding that two people are said to be involved in Guthrie’s kidnapping and that the video shows “key people.”
USA TODAY has reached out to the FBI, Pima County Sheriff’s Department and NBC for comment.
According to TMZ, the note contained a video of the 84-year-old’s “possibly last day” as well as photos of “both parties involved” and “names, addresses, and ages.” The person told the outlet that he intended to give up his password once he received payment in Bitcoin.
USA TODAY has not seen or authenticated this memo. TMZ noted that it forwarded the email to the FBI and told the person to send a screenshot of Nancy Guthrie in the video to prove the email was genuine.
Details of Nancy Guthrie’s new ransom note revealed
The new memo comes days after NBC News, ABC News and CBS News reported that a memo was received early in the case claiming Nancy Guthrie was dead.
In the days following Guthrie’s disappearance, unverified ransom notes detailing the alleged kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie were sent to KOLD News, CBS’ Tucson affiliate, and TMZ.
The KOLD memo reportedly contained details about the home and the clothing Nancy Guthrie was wearing that night, but the Sheriff’s Department did not comment on its accuracy at the time, and the Sheriff’s Department demanded millions of dollars in the form of Bitcoin to free Nancy Guthrie, with varying deadlines.
In an interview with NBC in March, Savannah Guthrie said she and her family believed two of the many notes she received were “real.”
“I think there’s a lot of different notes, and I don’t think most of them are authentic,” Guthrie told Kotb in a March 26 “Today” interview segment. “However, we are inclined to believe that the two notes we received and responded to are genuine.”
Has Nancy Guthrie been found?
Nancy Guthrie has never been found. Guthrie, the elderly mother of “Today” anchor Savannah Guthrie, was last seen on the night of Jan. 31, when her family dropped her off at her home in Tucson, Arizona, after dinner. The next morning, she was reported missing and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department began investigating, with the FBI arriving a few days later.
Contributor: Liza Esquibias, USA TODAY
