US4 min(s) read
Published 13:18 23 Jun 2026 GMT
Detectives believe two key details in Nancy Guthrie's ransom notes could help solve the case.
The 84-year-old mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie was reported missing on February 1 after failing to arrive at a friend's home.
Investigators believe she was taken from her Tucson, Arizona, residence during the early morning hours.
Law enforcement has reportedly revisited an initial ransom note and a follow-up email sent from the same IP address after concluding that both contained information that was not publicly known at the time.
The sender allegedly referenced a damaged floodlight on Guthrie's property and correctly described details about the Apple Watch she was wearing when she vanished.
Those details have become key to the investigation, with sources telling Air Mail that police officials are once again trying to trace a chain of proxy servers that may finally lead them to the people responsible.
If the messages prove to be authentic, investigators reportedly believe the kidnapping may have involved more than one person.
According to the report, police are looking into the possibility that there is a mastermind who organized the ransom scheme while another individual carried out the abduction itself.
That theory comes from surveillance footage that reportedly showed what sources described as a less experienced suspect involved in the crime.
The emails first surfaced shortly after Guthrie disappeared.
One note claimed the 84-year-old was "safe but scared" and demanded millions of dollars in $4 Bitcoin in exchange for her release.
Per reports, the sender warned that if payment was not received by 5PM on February 5, the situation could escalate. The demand was later allegedly increased to $6 million by February 9, "or else."
Investigators reportedly took the messages seriously because they contained information only someone involved in the kidnapping would likely know.
However, despite the threats, no ransom exchange ever took place, and Guthrie remains missing.
Days after the original ransom demand, a second note was sent on February 6.
According to reports, the message claimed the mother had "perished shortly after she was taken" and stated that "she is buried in nature now."
The note reportedly also claimed her abductors "never intended to hurt her" and ended with the words: "We are truly sorry."
Unlike the earlier message, the second note did not contain any financial demands.
CBS News reported that investigators believe both communications were sent by the same person or group.
Investigators have tried to identify the sender through the cryptocurrency account provided in the ransom demands.
Per Air Mail, police deposited a small amount of money into the Bitcoin wallet in hopes of tracking activity and identifying its owner. The effort was unsuccessful.
The wallet has reportedly remained inactive, preventing investigators from tracing it back to the people behind the ransom notes.
As the investigation continues, Savannah has repeatedly appealed for information about her mother's disappearance.
The day after one of the ransom notes arrived, she appeared in a clip alongside her siblings, Camron and Annie.
"We received your message, and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us, so that we can celebrate with her," she said. "This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay."
Months later, the television host admitted her family is still searching for answers.
"Honestly, we don't know anything," she told former Today co-host Hoda Kotb.
Savannah added that her family "cannot be at peace" without knowing what happened and urged anyone with information to come forward.
"Someone can do the right thing, and it is never too late to do the right thing. And our hearts are focused on that," she said.
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