Nancy Guthrie Ransom Notes Released by Sheriff: 'She Perished Shortly After She Was Taken'

Update

The first note demanded millions. The second said Guthrie had died unexpectedly

Six months after the disappearance of Today show anchor Savannah Guthrie‘s mother, Nancy Guthrie, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department in Arizona has released a pair of ransom notes to the public. In the first, the alleged kidnappers demand millions, while the second note states that the 84-year-old Guthrie has “perished.” Nancy was last seen alive on Jan. 31

The sheriff’s department did not confirm if the notes were authentic and stated that the messages “purport to have been written by kidnappers.” Investigators are hoping some will recognize the writer’s “patterns of word choice, syntax and phraseology” and said they believe “these distinctive linguistic characteristics may be recognizable to someone who knows or has interacted with the notes’ writer.”

Both notes were sent to KOLD-TV 13 News, a local CBS affiliate in Tucson. The first, on Feb. 2, was addressed to Savannah and demanded $4 million in Bitcoin for the release of her mother by Feb. 5. The ransom would increase to $6 million if the deadline passed, the note stated, and would then need to paid by Feb. 9.