The FBI's Alleged Findings In Nancy Guthrie Ransom Notes May Change Kidnapping Motive
The FBI reportedly determined that highly publicized ransom notes related to Nancy Guthrie‘s kidnapping, including one that claimed she was dead, are fake, potentially upending speculation about the motive behind Nancy’s abduction.
On June 30, Reuters reported that an FBI official informed the outlet that three messages related to Nancy Guthrie’s kidnapping that surfaced in media reports have been deemed by federal investigators to be fake communications.
The findings refer to two notes reported in early February, one of which allegedly claimed the 84-year-old was dead, and a third note that surfaced more recently and claimed to know the kidnappers’ identities.
“None of the ransom notes are believed to be genuine,” the anonymous FBI official told Reuters.
This disclosure may cast doubt on investigators’ premise that Nancy Guthrie was abducted for ransom. It is not known if there is any additional evidence to suggest that ransom was the motive behind the kidnapping.
A spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, which is leading the investigation, declined to comment to Reuters. “We don’t have any updates, other than this is still an active investigation,” the sheriff’s spokesperson, Angelica Carrillo, said. She added that DNA samples and video evidence collected in the case “remain under forensic analysis.”
In June, it was widely reported that the second ransom note, which was sent on February 6, claimed Nancy had died by accident in the kidnapper’s care and that she was “buried with nature.” Nancy, who is the mother of Today host Savannah Guthrie, was kidnapped from her home in Arizona in the early hours of February 1. This note came after a February 2 note received by outlets, including TMZ, that sought a cryptocurrency payment in exchange for Nancy’s safe return. The FBI now says these notes were fake, according to Reuters.
Per Reuters, the FBI deposited a small amount of cryptocurrency in the account mentioned in the message, but the money was left untouched and never taken.
On June 23, Savannah addressed reports that the second note included a claim that her mother was dead on Today. “This is unusual and unprecedented to say the least, to be sitting here. I don’t have any comment on this story, and I’m not involved in our coverage, but I can’t pretend I’m not here,” she said. “And so since I am, I want to just take the opportunity to ask people, to really to beg people to come forward. Somebody knows something, and this is a new story today that is on your radar, but this is the life that my sister lives, that I live, that my brother lives, that our extended families live, that our children live, every day. And we are in agony. We cannot be at peace.”