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Nearly six months after “Today” host Savannah Guthrie‘s mother Nancy Guthrie vanished from her Tucson, AZ, home, the Pima County Sheriff’s Office released two ransom notes, the second of which claimed that the missing woman had died.
The brief letters were made public on Friday for the first time by investigators in hopes of generating fresh tips in the high-profile disappearance case.
The first note, addressed to “Dear Savannah” and sent on February 1—a day after Nancy was taken from her Catalina Foothills home. It was written by someone claiming to have the NBC presenter’s mother in their custody and described the 84-year-old woman as “safe but scared.”
“She will be held for ransom and once payment is received she will be released unharmed,” the presumed kidnapper writes. “We will be holding her for a maximum of 7 days.”
The author of the note instructs the anchor to send $4 million in bitcoin before 5 pm on February 5. If she delays, the ransom amount will be increased to $6 million due on February 9. Upon receiving the payout, the abductors promise to release Nancy within 12 hours at a “safe drop off location” in Tucson.
“If payment is not received by the last deadline on Monday the 9th at 5PM, she will be killed,” continues the letter. “Your mother is aware of this and her life is in your hands. It is in the best interest of everyone to have this completed as soon as possible.”
Savannah is then told that she will not be able to contact the person or people allegedly holding her mother captive, and there will be no negotiations.
“Do not play games, law enforcement will not be able to help you,” concludes the missive.
The chilling second note, addressed to the “Guthrie family” and sent on Feb. 6, alleges that Nancy passed away not long after being taken from her home.
“We did not fully grasp the seriousness of her physical condition,”reads the newly released document. “We never intended to hurt her, that was not our intention. She perished shortly after she was taken. We believe it was heart related. She is buried in nature now. Nothing you could have done could have changed the outcome. We want your family to know this and hope you all can find peace. We are truly sorry.”
Officials with the sheriff’s office stress that the newly released notes contain distinct patterns of word choice, syntax, and phraseology they say reflect the writer’s unique linguistic style, and also provide insight into their mindset, motives and changing tone.
“We believe these distinct linguistic characteristics may be recognizable to someone who knows or has interact with the notes write,” investigators say. “A friend, family member, coworker, classmate, or acquaintance may recognize their patterns of exression and possess information that could help identify the individual responsible.”
This is the biggest development in the case since authorities in Arizona released footage from a security camera at Nancy’s front door showing an armed and masked intruder approaching the property on the night of Jan. 31.
Savannah Guthrie, 54, has repeatedly pleaded for information concerning her mother’s whereabouts, most recently this week, when she posted a video tearfully begging Nancy’s kidnappers to help the family “bring her home.”
What is the full timeline of Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance?
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos noted during a media briefing on Feb. 5 that, while times are approximate, his team has pieced together several pieces of evidence that indicate Nancy’s movements—and the timeline of her apparent abduction.
Nancy was reported missing at around 12 p.m. local time on Feb. 1, around 14 hours after she was dropped off at the property following a family dinner. When she failed to turn up at her usual church gathering on Sunday, her friends alerted her family, who found her home was empty.
SATURDAY, JAN. 31
5:32 p.m. Nancy travels to Annie’s house in an Uber for “dinner and playing games with the family.”
9:48 p.m. A garage door at Nancy’s house opens when she was dropped off at the property by her daughter.
9:50 p.m. The garage door closes, indicating that Nancy was inside the home.
SUNDAY, FEB. 1
1:47 a.m. Nancy’s doorbell security camera is disconnected.
2:12 a.m. Movement is detected on a security camera at the home. No footage of this is currently available.
2:28 a.m. Nancy’s pacemaker app indicates that the device has been disconnected from her phone.
11:00 a.m. Nancy fails to arrive at the home of a friend, where she had been due to watch a church service livestream.
11:56 a.m. Nancy’s family travels to her home to check on her and finds the property empty.
12:03 p.m. The family calls 911 to report Nancy missing.
12:14 p.m. Police officers arrive at Nancy’s home.
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