The Pima County Sheriff’s Department addressed reports of a new ransom note in the Nancy Guthrie case Monday, sharing that they were “working to determine credibility” of the alleged missive.
“The PCSD/FBI Guthrie task force was recently made aware of a new possible ransom note in the Nancy Guthrie investigation,” a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office told TheWrap on Monday. “Investigators are also aware of social media comments being made regarding this note and are looking further into this and working to determine credibility.”
The investigators’ statement came hours after true-crime YouTuber Jonathan Lee Riche, known as JLR Investigates online, took to X and claimed that a “friend of Nancy Guthrie contacted authorities after receiving a bitcoin demand.”
Riche followed up later on Monday, writing on X while livestreaming on the app, “We are speaking with Lauren now. Friend of Nancy Guthrie. Who got a extortion bitcoin demand claiming Nancy is alive in Mexico. FBI are involved.”
We should note that while Riche describes himself as an “investigative reporter” on his social media platforms, he is not credentialed with any professional outlet.
The mother of “Today” anchor Savannah Guthrie was last seen on the evening of Jan. 31, when family dropped her off at her Tucson, Ariz. home. However, by late-midday on Feb. 1, the elder Guthrie was reported missing after she didn’t show up at a friend’s place to watch a virtual church service. Pima County investigators later shared that they believed Guthrie was taken against her will.
Guthrie’s security camera, which had been disabled, later revealed images of a man in a ski mask, jacket, gloves and a backpack outside her property. FBI Phoenix later described the suspect “as a male, approximately 5’9” – 5’10” tall, with an average build.”
Savannah, along with her siblings, have made several public pleas for their mother’s return. In July, Savannah made another impassioned statement to her mother’s kidnapper on Instagram.
“I come today with a very specific message,” Savannah said at the time. “It has been months since our mom was taken from us. Our family is in agony. We are in a nightmare that will not end. Nothing about our situation has changed. We have done our part. We will never stop looking for her. We will always ache for her, feel that hole in our hearts.”
“The world can be a cruel and unforgiving place and I know you have tried to do things the right way. So I’m asking you, begging you, to do the right thing now. Make the right choice. Help us find her. Tell us where to look for her,” she continued. “I truly believe it is never too late to do the right thing. Help us bring this situation to an end. For all of us, no matter where we’ve been, what we’ve done, I believe there is always a way home. Please make the right choice.”
No one has been arrested or named a suspect in connection with Guthrie’s disappearance, despite multiple searches, analyzed DNA, alleged ransom notes and other investigative processes. However, one of the aforementioned ransom notes claimed that the Guthrie matriarch “perished shortly after she was taken” and was “buried in nature now.”
The effort continues to locate her presumed remains.
