A message sent to media outlets related to the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, mother of NBC “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, states that she has died, they told CNN multiple law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation.
The message was sent after a first note demanding a ransom of millions of dollars.
Investigators believe both messages are legitimate and were sent by the kidnappers.
The second message states that they did not intend to kill her, but that she died shortly after the kidnapping, according to police sources.
The family responded via an emotional video, in which Savannah declared, “We received your message and we understand.”
The content of the second message was already known by CNN and by the local news team at a television station in Tucson, Arizona, which received both messages.
A CNN and the television station agreed to comply with a request from authorities and the family to delay releasing the content of both messages so that any future communications from the kidnapper or kidnappers could be authenticated.
Disappearance after dinner with family
Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen on January 31, 2026 at dinner with family. Authorities believe she was kidnapped from her Arizona residence.
In early February, the FBI released images captured by the doorbell camera at Nancy Guthrie’s home in which a masked, armed person is seen the night she disappeared.
Authorities have determined that the man seen in the doorbell camera footage was carrying an Ozark Trail brand backpack, the sheriff said, but they are still trying to identify other items and determine where they may have been purchased.
Federal and local investigators spent days working to recover video footage, analyze DNA and authenticate several possible ransom messages, but no “proof of life” was received and no suspect identified.
Nancy Guthrie’s children and their spouses were ruled out as suspects.
Since the disappearance, at least three alleged ransom messages were sent to media outlets in February.
At least three different news outlets — TMZ and CNN affiliates in Tucson, KOLD and KGUN — reported receiving the messages demanding millions of dollars in bitcoin in exchange for Guthrie’s safe return.
The same message was sent to several media outlets, according to Heith Janke, FBI special agent responsible for the case. He could not confirm when the messages were sent.
The elderly woman’s family published a series of videos to return Nancy to the family.
Savannah Guthrie’s return to TV
Just over two months after Nancy’s disappearance, he thanked his fans for their support.
In March, Nancy’s family again appealed to the public saying “no detail is too small.”
In the following months, the investigation was unable to determine why the elderly woman had been kidnapped. Authorities have not ruled out that more than one person may be involved in Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance.
