US3 min(s) read
Published 08:51 01 Jul 2026 GMT
The FBI has provided a huge update in the Nancy Guthrie case, revealing that some key evidence has been proven to be fake.
It's been months since the 84-year-old mother of TV news host Savannah Guthrie vanished.
She was last seen on the night of January 31 at her home in Tucson, Arizona, by her daughter Annie and her son-in-law.
Authorities believe that the suspected kidnapping took place, with surveillance footage revealing that a masked individual arrived at the property in the middle of the night.
Nancy is still missing, as her daughter has stepped back from work to support her family as investigators continue to look into her mom's disappearance.
So far in the case, authorities have provided updates such as kidnapping suspects and ransom notes.
But in a new update, the FBI has claimed that those notes, one of which claimed Nancy was dead, were actually fake.
The original ransom notes, which were sent to TMZ, were falsified according to the FBI.
Three notes were sent, asking for millions in Crypto, claiming to know the identities of the kidnappers, even alleging to have footage of the day she had died.
These were taken very seriously, but a senior FBI official has now confirmed to Reuters that "none of the ransom notes are believed to be genuine."
Now, investigators are questioning whether Nancy was taken for ransom at all.
A spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriff's Department did not comment on this update, instead stating that it was "still an active investigation."
Angelica Carrilo, the sheriff's spokesperson, said: "We don't have any updates, other than this is still an active investigation."
She also said that DNA samples and video evidence from the case "remain under forensic analysis."
Investigators had been focusing on a Bitcoin wallet provided by the people behind the alleged ransom demand.
But according to cryptocurrency specialists, the ransom communications and the wallet itself suggest the perpetrators may have been inexperienced.
The first alleged ransom note demanded $4million in Bitcoin to be sent in a few days, with another offering an "apology" for her death, claiming the body could be delivered for that amount.
The message reportedly included details about Guthrie’s home and an Apple Watch that had not been made public. A second email, sent from the same IP address, later claimed that Guthrie had died.
Sources close to the investigation told Air Mail that detectives from the FBI and the Pima County Sheriff's Department are now reconsidering their decision not to send the full ransom payment.
The FBI reportedly deposited just $152 worth of Bitcoin into the wallet. The goal was to see whether the suspects would move the funds, creating a digital trail that investigators could follow.
But the money remained untouched.
