The FBI announced on Wednesday that several ransom notes linked to Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance are being dismissed as extortion attempts. Nevertheless, the agency continues to assess other notes that could potentially be authentic.
While the FBI refrained from disclosing the exact number of ransom notes they’ve obtained, they confirmed receiving “several.”
In their official statement, the FBI affirmed that they are handling this situation as a kidnapping for ransom investigation.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department is also actively involved in probing the case. Despite choosing not to comment on the ransom notes on Wednesday, they emphasized that every lead in the inquiry is being pursued with utmost seriousness.
According to Tucson’s KOLD TV station, they came into possession of two notes—one demanding a hefty sum in Bitcoin for Guthrie’s safe return and another ominously stating that she had passed away. TMZ has also reportedly received a note.
Guthrie is the mother of longtime “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie. Authorities believe she was kidnapped, abducted or otherwise taken against her will on Feb. 1. They found blood near the front doorstep of her home just outside Tucson, and the FBI later released surveillance videos showing a masked man on the porch that night.
Volunteers and search teams scoured the nearby desert terrain filled with cactuses, bushes and boulders in the weeks after she vanished. A volunteer group recently conducted a search for her body near the Arizona-Mexico border.