The person who received a series of suspected ransom demands connected to the Nancy Guthrie case is disputing recent reports that suggested the possible abductors expressed remorse over the 84-year-old’s alleged death.
Harvey Levin addressed the issue Monday afternoon in a video posted to TMZ’s YouTube channel, saying he wanted to clarify details about communications involving the FBI that he had not previously discussed. “I wanna talk about Nancy Guthrie and some communications I had with the FBI that I haven’t talked about until now,” Levin said. He added that reports characterizing the ransom letter as apologetic toward Savannah Guthrie and her family were not accurate based on what TMZ received. “That was not in the ransom note that we received,” he said.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, whose office is leading the case, told News Agency on Monday that the FBI has been overseeing the investigation into multiple ransom demands from the outset. According to Nanos, some of those demands have appeared to be hoaxes, while others have carried the possibility of being legitimate.
A missing person billboard for Nancy Guthrie is seen in Phoenix, Arizona, on Feb. 6, 2026. Guthrie has been missing since early February 2026. (KSAZ)
Nanos referred questions about the latest reports to the FBI. The bureau did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Levin emphasized that the message TMZ received did not contain any claim that Guthrie had died, nor did it include an apology from the alleged kidnappers. “It is not in that ransom note at all,” he said. “It does say that she’s scared but OK. But the ransom note makes no reference to Nancy Guthrie either dying or the kidnappers apologizing.”
Two images of the suspect seen on Nancy Guthrie’s porch were captured on separate days, a source familiar with the matter told News Agency. (FBI)
TMZ wasn’t the only outlet to receive potential ransom demands, however. Local media also received similar messages through their online tip boxes, at least at first.
ABC News reported Monday that local media received a follow-up demand claiming that Guthrie had died and been buried.
A federal law enforcement source confirmed to News Agency Monday that the FBI deposited small sums of crypto into a Bitcoin wallet to test the purported ransom demand’s validity. It was not immediately clear whether the second note sender was credible — or whether any of the ransom demands were real.
Savannah Guthrie hugs a staff member during a visit to the Today show at Rockefeller Plaza in New York on March 5, 2026. (Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
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They would, however, fit the “wrench attack” pattern that some investigators have floated in connection with the case, in which a “mastermind” computer hacker, probably overseas, could have hired local thugs to kidnap Guthrie in an effort to extort her daughter, “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie.
Sunday marked 20 weeks since Guthrie’s suspected abduction from her home in the Catalina Foothills north of Tucson. Her whereabouts remain unknown as of Monday.
A series of later emails, however, sent by someone claiming to have knowledge of the case, referenced Guthrie’s death, Levin added.
“That is from the person who sent us multiple emails saying that he knows or knew where Nancy Guthrie was and where the kidnappers were, and he wanted money in return for information,” Levin said. “We passed that along to the FBI as we did the ransom note, but this person kept sending us email. And early on, he said, time is of the essence. And then a few days after the kidnapping, he said, time is no longer of the essence, meaning she wasn’t alive.”
That person had asked for $100,000 for the information — far less than the $4 million ransom demand, he added.
Savannah Guthrie poses with her mother Nancy Guthrie during a production break while hosting NBC’s “Today Show” live from Australia. (Photo by Don Arnold/WireImage)
“This person also said that he was afraid that he might be implicated,” Levin explained. “He had a burglary on his record from I think he said 11 years before, and apparently he knew these kidnappers well enough that he was afraid he might implicated.”
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He purportedly said he wanted the money so he could go “underground” and avoid retribution.
That person never got any money, he said. And when he offered to have TMZ put up the money just to see if it led to any kind of resolution, he said his sources at the FBI stopped responding.
Anyone with information on Guthrie’s case is asked to dial 1-800-CALL-FBI. There is a combined reward of more than $1.2 million for information that cracks the case.
Tips can be provided anonymously to Tucson’s Crime Stoppers affiliate, 88-Crime, at 1-520-882-7463.
