Investigators are reviewing a possible new ransom note in the Nancy Guthrie abduction nearly eight months after she vanished, and officials already voice skepticism about whether it is real.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department and FBI Guthrie Task Force said late Monday they were recently made aware of a new possible ransom note tied to the case. A Daily Mail report said the task force is also tracking social media comments about the note while it tries to determine if the material holds up.
Nancy Guthrie, 84, was forcibly taken from her Tucson-area home on February 1. She is the mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie. No arrests have been announced. Her status, alive or dead, remains unresolved in public reporting.
A spokesman for the sheriff’s department told 13 News there is “some skepticism” about the note’s validity. Contents of the new note have not been released. How it surfaced has not been detailed either.
Breitbart reported that authorities are examining the possible note along with related social media chatter, and that officials have not disclosed how it was found. The case still has no public breakthrough on who took her.
Police released two earlier ransom notes in July, months after they first reached the family. One demanded $4 million. Another claimed the elderly woman had died and offered an apology.
Just The News reported those notes in more detail when the sheriff’s office put them out: one sent in early February claimed she was alive and safe pending a large cryptocurrency payment; a later note said she died from pre-existing conditions soon after being taken and was buried “in nature.” Officials said the writing showed a distinctive style they hoped someone would recognize.
One of the earlier notes included specific details about Guthrie’s home, a broken floodlight in the backyard and a white smartwatch on her bedroom floor, and was treated as potentially authentic on that basis. The other lacked those details but matched the tone enough that investigators suggested the same person may have written both.
The Guthrie family has offered a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to her recovery. The family has not publicly addressed reports of a potential new note.
Readers following the case will recall how long Tucson investigators went without arrests as the months piled up and the family waited.
The FBI earlier released surveillance video of a masked man at Guthrie’s front porch. Authorities said the man appeared to tamper with a camera and block it with a plant. He was described as about 5 feet 9 inches tall. His identity has not been announced.
Last month, officers were seen scouring brush outside the home. Retired Pima County Sheriff’s Department lieutenant Bob Krygier told Fox News he was “certain that they've searched those areas already,” and suggested heavy rains, a fresh look, or new leads could explain the return. Whether that search produced evidence remains unclear.
Forensic work has also hit limits. Coverage of the case has included how a hair sample from the crime scene yielded no usable DNA profile, another reminder of how hard this trail has been to work.
Fox News reported the same task-force statement on the possible new note and cited a law enforcement source close to the case saying no new notes are being treated as credible. Sheriff Chris Nanos has said of Guthrie, “She did not leave on her own. We know that.” Two months ago he also said, “We're still here. We are not going away,” and “We've got a lot of work ahead of us.”
"The PCSD/FBI Guthrie Task Force was recently made aware of a new possible ransom note related to the Nancy Guthrie investigation. Investigators are also aware of social media comments regarding the note and are looking further into the information to determine its credibility."
That language came from the joint task force as the possible note entered the public conversation.
The Washington Examiner reported that prior ransom notes in the case were determined to be fake, and that the new material is again being checked for credibility. The same account described long-running tension over how the probe was run, including accusations from FBI Director Kash Patel that Sheriff Chris Nanos delayed federal involvement and sent evidence to a Florida lab instead of the FBI.
Those disputes matter because an 84-year-old woman was taken from her home, and the public still has no suspect in custody. Authorities have asked for tips on anyone who suddenly left the Tucson area, changed appearance, or showed odd interest, or disinterest, in the case.
Local friction over search priorities has been a recurring theme, including when a retired FBI agent challenged the Pima County sheriff over unsearched desert tied to the same disappearance.
Nearly eight months in, the core facts have not moved enough. Guthrie was abducted. Notes followed. Video of a masked man at her porch was released. A large family reward sits on the table. A possible new note is now under review, with open skepticism attached.
Similar missing-person cases show how long families can wait for hard answers, as when remains in an Idaho river were finally identified after an extended search. Guthrie’s case is still short of that kind of resolution.
An elderly woman taken from her own home should not become a permanent open file. Taxpayers fund the badge for results, not months of mixed signals, delayed federal help, and notes that may or may not be real.