Chilling twist in Nancy Guthrie missing case as ransom note surfaces

Los Angeles, United States: In a surprising turn of events, a ransom note connected to the disappearance of US television host Savannah Guthrie's mother said she had passed away.

Nancy Guthrie went missing from her home in Tucson, Arizona, in the early hours of February 1.

Security camera footage released by authorities showed a masked, apparently armed man at her house, but the trail has since gone cold.

Two notes were sent to the 84-year-old's family and multiple American outlets, CNN and CBS reported, citing unnamed law enforcement.

Also read | Nancy Guthrie ‘dead’? Conflicting ransom notes claim knowledge of body’s location, demand Bitcoin

The first note demanded a ransom of millions of dollars, and a second note claimed that the kidnappers did not mean to kill Nancy Guthrie but that she had died shortly after her disappearance.

"Investigators believed they were legitimate communications from the kidnappers," CNN said.

Savannah Guthrie co-hosts NBC's Today show, which draws millions of viewers on weekday mornings.

Questions surrounding the alleged ransom note in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie resurfaced on Monday after TMZ founder Harvey Levin publicly addressed reports about a letter linked to the case.

Levin dismissed claims that he had received a ransom note apologising to television host Savannah Guthrie and her family for Nancy Guthrie's alleged kidnapping and death. According to him, the message contained no apology and made no reference to Nancy Guthrie's death. Instead, the note reportedly stated that she was "scared but OK."

Levin also revealed that TMZ had received multiple emails from an individual claiming to have knowledge of the alleged kidnappers and Nancy Guthrie's whereabouts. The sender reportedly sought around $100,000 in exchange for the information.

“There’s something about those emails that made me believe that this guy may well have known who the kidnappers were,” Levin said.

Despite TMZ offering to cover the cost, the FBI never paid the individual behind the emails, Levin added.

Jessica Bobula, news director for the Tucson TV station KOLD, said Monday that the station received several notes after Guthrie disappeared. The station notified authorities and has shared only what the FBI has released about the notes, she said.

Authorities believe Nancy Guthrie was kidnapped, abducted or otherwise taken against her will after finding blood near her front doorstep. The FBI later released surveillance videos showing a masked man on the porch that night.

Volunteers and search teams scoured the nearby desert terrain filled with cactuses, bushes and boulders in the weeks after she vanished. A volunteer group recently conducted a search for her body near the Arizona-Mexico border but didn't report finding her.