Sheriff in Nancy Guthrie case addresses new ransom note
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos is addressing the latest alleged ransom note relating to Nancy Guthrie's disappearance.
Nanos appeared on Arizona radio station KVOI AM 1030's "Buckmaster Show" on June 26, where he spoke out about about TMZ's reporting earlier that day that they received a new letter claiming a phone in a "secure location" has video of Savannah Guthrie's 84-year-old mom and her alleged kidnappers on it.
Nanos explained his skepticism about the legitimacy of all ransom notes, which he noted are being investigated by the FBI as they continue to partner with the Pima County Sheriff's Department.
"I think the FBI has done a number of arrests for false or fake ransom notes," Nanos said. "It's a shame that that happens, but I think we're looking at another one of those today with what's been reported. But we'll let the FBI do their work."
Nanos added that "it is a shame that these type of events occur," because "people have great interest, and that's good because it helps us, but then it gets really gets abused."
"People who call in fake ransom notes, people who claim [false information] for the sake of media and the family, they get out and disturb, in this case, an entire neighborhood," Nanos said.
Nancy Guthrie new ransom note alleges details of disappearance
TMZ reported Friday, June 26, that they received a new ransom note allegedly offering the password to a phone in a "secure location" with information on Guthrie's disappearance in exchange for payment in Bitcoin. The note was reportedly sent to the outlet by someone with the same email and Bitcoin address as the person who emailed them shortly after Guthrie went missing in February.
The note allegedly said two people are responsible for Guthrie's kidnapping and the phone contains video of the "main guy," along with photos of "both involved" and "names and addresses and age." It also allegedly claimed there is footage of Guthrie on "the day that was probably her last."
USA TODAY has not viewed or authenticated the note. TMZ stated it forwarded the email to the FBI and asked the sender to share a screenshot of Guthrie in the video to prove its authenticity.
When reached by USA TODAY, the Pima County Sheriff's Department declined to comment, and the FBI said it does "not comment on ongoing investigations."
Previous ransom note alleged Nancy Guthrie died
The latest alleged note comes days after, NBC News, ABC News and CBS News reported on June 22 that a note sent to multiple news outlets early on in the case claimed Guthrie was dead. NBC and ABC cited unnamed people "familiar with" the matter, while CBS referred to "sources who reviewed the notes."
Unverified ransom notes began circulating in the days after the mother of "Today" show anchor Savannah Guthrie was abducted from her home in Tucson, Arizona. She was last seen entering her garage on Jan. 31, after having dinner with family nearby and was reported missing the next morning.
Savannah Guthrie and her siblings have addressed the letters over the past five months. In a Feb. 4 video posted to Instagram, the host spoke to the suspected kidnapper directly, saying, "We want to hear from you and we are ready to listen."
On Feb. 7, Savannah Guthrie shared another video acknowledging a second ransom note: "We received your message and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay."
In late February, the Guthrie family offered a $1 million reward for any information leading to Nancy Guthrie's recovery. The FBI also released images showing an armed, unidentified individual appearing to tamper with the Nancy Guthrie's front door camera the morning she disappeared.
Savannah Guthrie again opened up about the ransom notes, reportedly received by KOLD News, CBS' Tucson affiliate, and TMZ, in a "Today" interview segment with Hoda Kotb on March 26.
"There are a lot of different notes, I think that came. And I think most of them, it's my understanding, are not real," Savannah Guthrie said. "But I believe the two notes that we received that we responded to, I tend to believe those were real."
On June 23, Savannah Guthrie reacted to reports one of the notes said Nancy Guthrie was dead, stating that while she didn't "have any comment on the story" and is "not involved in our coverage" for NBC, she wanted to "beg people to come forward" with any information.
"Somebody knows something, and this is a news story today that is on your radar, but this is the life that my sister lives, that I live, that my brother lives, that our extended families live, that our children live every day, and we are in agony. We cannot be at peace," she said at the time.
Law enforcement asks anyone with information to contact 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov, the Pima County Sheriff's Department (520-351-4900) or 88-CRIME.
Contributing: Taijuan Moorman and KiMi Robinson, USA TODAY