A newly reported ransom message sent to Nancy Guthrie’s devastated relatives included a grim apology that allegedly said she had been killed by accident.
The unsettling Feb. 6 email, sent to TMZ, came from the same IP address used for previous extortion messages containing unnerving details about the night Guthrie — the mother of “Today” host Savannah Guthrie — was taken from her Arizona home, including descriptions of her clothing, sources familiar with the investigation told Air Mail.
In an earlier Feb. 2 message, the alleged kidnapper demanded $4 million in bitcoin, claimed Guthrie was “safe but scared,” and laid out instructions for a handoff — details that reportedly led investigators to believe they were communicating with the actual abductors, not online trolls.
But the Feb. 6 follow-up took a darker turn, beginning with what the outlet described as a strange, meandering “apology” for her supposed accidental death.
The message also indicated that the 84-year-old kidnapping victim’s remains could be returned in exchange for payment, though it did not name a specific sum, according to the outlet’s sources.
That note reportedly prompted authorities to reframe the case from a kidnapping investigation to a possible homicide inquiry.
It also appeared to trigger a public, emotional plea from Savannah and her siblings, who posted a 20-second Instagram video the following day saying they had “received your message and we understand.”
Savannah later pleaded with the alleged abductor to “return our mother to us,” stressing that her safe return was “very valuable to us” and adding, “we will pay.”
It also appeared to trigger a public, emotional plea from Savannah and her siblings, who posted a 20-second Instagram video the following day saying they had “received your message and we understand.”
Savannah later pleaded with the alleged abductor to “return our mother to us,” stressing that her safe return was “very valuable to us” and adding, “we will pay.”
Guthrie has been missing since Feb. 1 after authorities believed she was kidnapped from her Tucson home.
A barrage of ransom notes flooded her family and media outlets, including several sent to TMZ, after her disappearance, with investigators sorting the messages into three categories – “the good, the bad, and the ugly” – as they combed through every line and chilling demand, sources told the outlet.
Notes with specific information about Guthrie were deemed “good,” while the one referencing her accidental death was labeled “bad,” the insiders said.
Savannah admitted in a “Today” interview earlier this year that most of the ransom notes sent to her family were fakes – but she added, “I believe the two notes that we received that we responded to, I tend to believe those are real.”
No arrests have been made and no new leads have manifested as the investigation into the mysterious disappearance continues.
