A ransom note sent to various media houses shortly after the abduction of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie, claimed she had passed away, according to sources close to the investigation.
The perpetrators attempted to bargain with the Guthrie family for the return of Nancy’s body.
Authorities are said to have authenticated the note, which led them to shift their focus from a suspected kidnapping to a potential homicide.
Highlights
- Investigators reportedly classified the ransom communications in the Nancy Guthrie case as “the good, the bad, and the ugly.”
- A February 6 ransom message reportedly apologized for Nancy Guthrie’s demise and offered to return her body in exchange for payment.
- An anonymous tip recently led volunteers to search for Nancy Guthrie’s remains near the US-Mexico border, but no evidence was found.
“This is very valuable to us, and we will pay,” Savannah, alongside her siblings Annie and Cameron, said in a video message directed at the perpetrators at the time, without revealing to the public the devastating news they had received.
A Nancy Guthrie ransom note apologized for her passing shortly after her abduction
Image credits: CBS
Nancy Guthrie was last seen on the night of January 31, when Annie’s husband, Tommaso Cioni, dropped her at her home in Arizona.
Her disappearance was revealed on the morning of Sunday, February 1, 2026, after she failed to attend a scheduled church service.
When authorities arrived at her home, they found splotches of blood on her porch, which immediately escalated the investigation and made the case a national headline.
Image credits: FBI
Several ransom emails landed in the inboxes of both Guthrie family members and the press, leading investigators to classify them as “the good, the bad, and the ugly,” according to Air Mail, which spoke with two sources close to the team working on the case.
The “good” was the email sent to local TV stations and celebrity news site TMZ at 6:42 p.m. on February 2.
Image credits: savannahguthrie
The email correctly described what Guthrie had been wearing on the night she was snatched from her house and accurately noted the presence of a damaged floodlight in the home’s backyard.
Nancy, according to the messages, was “safe but scared.” If the family paid $4 million by 5 p.m. on February 5 to a particular Bitcoin wallet, a return would be arranged.
The sum would be bumped to $6 million in case of delay, the note added, while conveying that these terms were non-negotiable.
Image credits: Instagram/savannahguthrie
Investigators managed to uncover the IP address associated with the email, pushing the investigation in a positive direction.
However, the “bad” email arrived before any results could be produced.
Image credits: Getty/Justin Sullivan
A note sent on February 6, according to Air Mail sources, apologized for Nancy’s inadvertent demise before offering to deliver her body for a sum.
Whether the amount would be the original $4 million or another figure was never clarified, despite the Guthrie siblings saying in an Instagram video the following day, “We received your message and understand.”
“We beg you now to return our mother to us,” the video further added.
Image credits: Fox News Digital/Kat Ramirez
The “ugly” communications, meanwhile, were emails deemed fake and sent by individuals seeking to profit from the Guthrie family’s ordeal.
TMZ has addressed the revelations, denouncing the reported contents of the “bad” ransom note
Image credits: FBI
“The Nancy Guthrie ransom note TMZ received was the real deal, according to the FBI, but contrary to new reports, it did not contain an apology or a revelation that she was d**d,” TMZ said.
The outlet, however, claimed to have received a different ransom note from someone who said they knew where Nancy was.
This individual said that “time was no longer of the essence” in the case, implying she had passed away, while asking for $34,000 in Bitcoin in exchange for information.
There is no confirmation that this person had any knowledge of her whereabouts.
Image credits: Savannah Guthrie
The site then shared, “We have been in touch with the FBI since the beginning, when we received the ransom note. Around a month ago, we called the FBI and said we believed the person who was asking for Bitcoin in return for information was authentic.
“Why would they say ‘time is no longer of the essence’ if it were a scam? A scammer would want to maintain urgency.”
Image credits: Annie Guthrie/Facebook
TMZ added, “We told the FBI we wanted to do a documentary and asked how the agency would feel if we paid the Bitcoin to see where it led. We did not want to interfere with the investigation or the Guthrie family, so we asked the FBI if that would be helpful.
“They said it was ‘interesting’ and would get back to us. We have tried contacting the FBI a half-dozen times since, and they have ghosted us.”
An anonymous tip earlier this month claimed Nancy’s remains are buried in Mexico
Image credits: Getty/Anadolu
Ramona Guadalupe Ayala Ortiz, the leader of Buscando Corazones, a volunteer search group based in Mexico, claimed an anonymous person reached out to her and said Nancy’s body was buried in the Nogales, Sonora, region along the US-Mexico border.
More specifically, the tip alleged that Nancy’s body was buried in one of the streams in an area known as Mariposa.
Volunteers with the collective, which has previously discovered 25 unmarked graves in the region, did not manage to find any evidence of Nancy’s grave or her whereabouts.
Image credits: Getty/NBC
The Pima County Sheriff’s Office released a statement on X regarding the tip and the independent investigation, saying that Mexican authorities, who often accompany the search group, had not contacted them with any noteworthy development.
“This investigation remains active and ongoing, and we will continue to follow up on any credible information,” the sheriff’s office concluded.
"Answers are now more urgent than ever," a netizen remarked
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