A new ransom note sent to TMZ claims to include video of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie alongside the person who allegedly abducted her from her Arizona home nearly five months ago, the latest in a string of disturbing communications that have kept her family in torment and investigators publicly silent.
The note, which TMZ reported receiving on Friday, also claimed to contain the identities and addresses of two kidnappers, stored on a phone allegedly "stashed in a secure location." The price for the password: one Bitcoin.
TMZ said it verified the emailed letter came from the same sender responsible for previous ransom notes in the case. The outlet has asked for a screenshot of Nancy to authenticate the claims. Whether that screenshot has been provided remains unknown.
An 84-year-old taken from her bed
Nancy Guthrie, the mother of NBC Today show host Savannah Guthrie, vanished from her home outside Tucson on February 1. Police said she was taken as she slept. Investigators found blood near the entrance of the home and concluded she was removed against her will.
The FBI later released surveillance footage showing a masked individual near the property around the time she disappeared. A retired bloodstain pattern analyst who reviewed the scene evidence told National Review that the blood evidence suggested a "drip trail," consistent with a bleeding individual, "a continuous source of blood dripping from an object or from a person."
The FBI's doorbell camera footage showed the masked figure carrying a backpack and what appeared to be a gun, tampering with the camera at 1:47 a.m. on February 1.
Despite that footage, the FBI has not publicly identified any suspects or persons of interest. Law enforcement officers, volunteers, and search teams have combed desert areas surrounding Tucson and beyond. Nancy Guthrie remains missing months after her abduction, with no public indication of a breakthrough.
A trail of ransom notes, and conflicting claims
The new note is far from the first. TMZ has received "several" ransom communications since Nancy went missing. Other media outlets, including local Arizona stations KOLD-TV and KGUN, also received alleged ransom letters demanding millions in Bitcoin and threatening to harm Nancy if payment was not made.
The earliest known note arrived on February 2, just one day after the abduction. It demanded $4 million in Bitcoin and described Nancy as "safe but scared," including specific details about what she was wearing the night she was taken, the New York Post reported.
Then came a darker message. A follow-up note on February 6, sent from the same IP address, reportedly contained an apology for Nancy's "accidental death" and suggested her body could be returned for a price. That communication shifted the investigation's posture from kidnapping toward potential homicide.
CNN, citing law enforcement sources, reported that one note indicated Nancy's death was allegedly not intentional and occurred shortly after she vanished. Authorities and media outlets involved in the case agreed to withhold certain details that could interfere with efforts to verify future communications from anyone connected to the disappearance.
The Pima County Sheriff's Department declined to comment on the reported contents of the earlier note. The FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Savannah Guthrie has said she believes two of the ransom notes her family received and responded to were genuine, while most others were fakes. Her emotional pleas for information have become a recurring feature of the case.
Savannah Guthrie's public agony
On Tuesday's Today broadcast, Savannah Guthrie addressed the latest developments and fought back tears as she appealed directly to viewers. Her words carried the weight of a family that has lived with uncertainty since the first day of February.
"This is a new story today that is on your radar, but this is the life 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."
She continued with a plea that was equal parts desperation and resolve.
"So no matter how much I try to come out here every day and smile and find that joy, and I will, I promise I will, this is a moment to tell you that we need your help. We're begging for your help."
Savannah returned to the NBC morning show in April following a leave of absence amid the search for her mother. She has been public about the family's willingness to engage with anyone who might have credible information. In an earlier Instagram video, she addressed the purported kidnappers directly: "We are ready to talk. However, we live in a world where voices and images are easily manipulated. We need to know without a doubt that she is alive and that you have her."
That statement, reported by the Washington Examiner, came as President Trump directed all federal law enforcement to assist local authorities in finding Nancy. "I am directing ALL Federal Law Enforcement to be at the family's, and Local Law Enforcement's, complete disposal, IMMEDIATELY," Trump stated.
Unanswered questions mount
The new ransom note raises as many questions as it purports to answer. Its claim of video evidence, showing Nancy with the "main guy", would represent the first visual proof of her condition since the abduction. But no such video has been made public, and it remains unclear whether authorities consider the note credible.
The note's reference to two kidnappers has not been confirmed by law enforcement. The FBI has released no public information about how many individuals may have been involved. Investigators have reportedly been closing in on the masked suspect seen in the doorbell camera footage, but no arrest has been announced.
FBI spokesperson Connor Hagan has urged the public to come forward, telling the Associated Press: "Someone has that one piece of information that can help us bring Nancy home."
Multiple purported ransom deadlines have passed without payment. The family has publicly stated its willingness to pay, but the shifting nature of the notes, from demands for millions to claims of accidental death to the latest offer of evidence for one Bitcoin, has made verification nearly impossible.
Investigators have categorized the notes as "good," "bad," and "ugly" based on their credibility and specificity, the New York Post reported. The earliest notes, which contained details about Nancy's clothing, appeared to carry more weight than later communications.
Meanwhile, strange digital activity has added another layer of unease. Someone changed Nancy Guthrie's Facebook privacy settings months after her abduction, a detail that has raised questions about who might have access to her accounts.
A case that demands answers
Nearly five months in, the public knows remarkably little about the investigation's progress. The FBI has not named suspects. The Pima County Sheriff's Department has declined to comment on key evidence. Ransom notes keep arriving at media outlets, each one more difficult to assess than the last.
What the public does know is grim. An 84-year-old woman was taken from her bed in the middle of the night. Blood was found at the scene. A masked figure with what appeared to be a firearm was caught on camera. And the notes that followed, at least some of which Savannah Guthrie believes are genuine, suggest Nancy may not have survived the ordeal.
Former FBI agents have predicted a breakthrough in the case, but that prediction has yet to materialize in any public way. The family waits. The investigation grinds forward behind closed doors. And a reward, the specific amount undisclosed, remains on the table for anyone willing to come forward.
Savannah Guthrie's words on Tuesday landed with a finality that no press release could match: "We love our mom and we'll never stop looking for her. Never."
An 84-year-old woman deserves better than to become a footnote in a slow-motion investigation. Her family deserves answers. And the public deserves to know whether the people charged with solving this case are any closer to doing so.
