Key facts
- FBI has determined three messages related to the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie's mother, Nancy Guthrie, to be fake.
- The messages include two ransom notes and a third communication claiming knowledge of the kidnappers.
- The FBI's assessment casts doubt on the initial premise that Nancy Guthrie was abducted for ransom.
- The first ransom note demanded cryptocurrency, which was deposited but unclaimed.
- Savannah Guthrie had previously appealed for information and offered a $1 million reward.
Federal investigators have determined that three messages related to the disappearance of "Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie's mother, Nancy Guthrie, are fake. An FBI official told Reuters that the two ransom notes and a third message claiming knowledge of the kidnappers' identities have been deemed inauthentic.
The FBI's assessment raises doubts about the initial premise that 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, who vanished on January 31, was abducted for ransom. The Pima County Sheriff's Department, leading the investigation, declined to comment on the notes, referring inquiries to the FBI.
The first note, reportedly demanding cryptocurrency in the millions, was met with a small, unclaimed deposit by the FBI in an attempt to trace the perpetrators. A second note, reported by NBC News, allegedly stated that Nancy Guthrie had died. The FBI also discounted a third note that claimed to have video evidence of the perpetrator.
Savannah Guthrie, 54, had previously referenced ransom demands in public appeals and offered a $1 million reward, describing her family as being in "agony" since her mother's disappearance. Authorities confirmed that blood found on Nancy Guthrie's porch belonged to her. Surveillance footage of a ski-masked prowler tampering with her doorbell camera shortly before she vanished was released, but DNA evidence from a glove found nearby did not yield a match.