Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told CBS News he had no note suggesting Nancy Guthrie was dead, then released two ransom notes the very next day, one of which said she "perished shortly after she was taken."

The contradiction landed in the middle of an already troubled investigation. On Thursday, Nanos sat for an interview with CBS News and said flatly: "I have nothing to indicate she's dead. I don't have a body. I don't have a burial site. I don't have any note." On Friday, his own office published the full text of two ransom notes that had been in investigators' possession since February, one demanding $4 million in bitcoin, the other claiming the 84-year-old Tucson woman had died.

Six months after Nancy Guthrie vanished from her home, the case remains unsolved. The FBI is offering up to $100,000 for information. The Guthrie family has posted a $1 million reward. And the sheriff leading the investigation just contradicted himself on national television about whether a critical piece of evidence even existed.

Two notes, five days apart, sent through a local TV tip line

Both ransom notes were emailed to CBS affiliate KOLD-TV in Tucson through the station's tip line, using email addresses that appeared to be fabricated. Investigators believe both came from the same masked IP address. Just The News reported that the first note arrived on February 2, roughly one day after Nancy Guthrie was last seen alive at her Tucson home on January 31, 2026. The second followed on February 6.

The first note opened with a line addressed directly to Nancy's daughter, "Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie: "Hello Savannah, We have your mother." It demanded $4 million in bitcoin and promised to return Nancy to a "safe drop off location" in Tucson within 12 hours of payment. The FBI took the note seriously because it included details about Nancy Guthrie's white Apple Watch and the floodlights on her back porch, specifics that suggested familiarity with her home.

Reuters reported the first note also threatened to raise the demand to $6 million and kill Nancy Guthrie if the original deadline was not met within three days.

The second note struck a different tone entirely. The ransom demand vanished. In its place was a claim that Nancy had died:

"We did not fully grasp the seriousness of her physical condition. We never intended to hurt her, that was not our intention. She perished shortly after she was taken. We believe it was heart related. She is buried in nature now."

That second note, the one stating an 84-year-old woman was dead and buried, was sitting in investigators' files when Sheriff Nanos told CBS News he had "no note."

Nanos released the notes one day after denying they existed

The sheriff's office posted the notes publicly on Friday via its X account, framing the release as an investigative appeal. Nanos said he hoped someone might recognize the author's distinctive wording and come forward with information. In a later social media video, he addressed the Guthrie family and concerned citizens directly.

"We're still here, we're not going away. If you could just see the team working, you would see the energy, the concern. They're fired up, and we'll continue to work this case hard."

Nanos also acknowledged the notes' uncertain status. "Those hostage notes: Are they valid, do we believe they're valid? We think every one of them's valid until we show otherwise," he said. People have already been arrested and charged for sending hoax and fake notes in connection with the case.

But the question is not whether the notes are authentic. The question is why Nanos told the public he had none. His Thursday statement was categorical, "I don't have any note", and it was false on its face. The notes had been in law enforcement's hands for nearly five months at that point.

This is not the first time Nanos has faced scrutiny over how he has handled the Guthrie investigation. Volunteer search teams were reportedly turned away from the case early on, drawing criticism from rescue organizations.

Retired FBI agents question the investigation's media strategy

Lance Leising, a retired FBI supervisory special agent, told CBS News the timing of the release raised concerns about how the sheriff's office has communicated with the public throughout the case.

"However, so late in the case and after a period of time where they have had no communication with the public, it just seems that the media strategy here is a little haphazard."

Leising also pointed to the ongoing uncertainty about the notes themselves. "I'm sure, and maybe even to this day, they're not 100% sure if these notes are legitimate," he said. "I mean, they've already arrested and charged people for sending hoax and fake notes in."

That skepticism found sharper expression from criminal profiler John Kelly, who told Fox News he does not believe the notes are real. Kelly said the two messages appear to have been written by people with distinctly different psychological profiles, the first cold and transactional, the second more emotional, and that neither matches the profile of the masked suspect captured on doorbell camera footage near Nancy Guthrie's home.

Savannah Guthrie, however, has said she believes the notes are genuine. "I believe the two notes that we received, that we responded to, I tend to believe those are real," she told Fox News.

Retired FBI supervisory special agent Jason Pack offered a different analytical lens. He told CBS News on Friday that the second note's abandonment of the ransom demand was itself significant.

"The money is simply gone. No demand. No offer to sell a location. Nothing. People motivated by money do not walk away from $4 million when the plan falls apart. They try to salvage something. This writer asked for nothing at all."

Pack said he believes one person wrote both notes, based on the delivery method and behavioral pattern. "Same channel, same habits, same distance from responsibility," he said. "Whether that person took Nancy or watched the coverage and decided to insert himself is the open question."

Surveillance footage shows a masked figure at Nancy Guthrie's door

The New York Post reported that surveillance footage captured an unidentified man dressed in all black near Nancy Guthrie's front door, possibly on two separate nights, a detail investigators say suggests premeditation. The suspect wore a ski mask, long sleeves, and black gloves, and carried a black Ozark Trail backpack.

Authorities also found blood near the front doorstep, AP News reported. The sheriff's office has noted that the ransom notes contain "distinctive patterns of word choice, syntax and phraseology" that someone close to the author might recognize, and that the suspect may have changed his appearance or behavior around the time of the kidnapping.

Earlier in the investigation, a hair sample recovered from Nancy Guthrie's home yielded no link to a suspect, adding to the frustration over the case's lack of forensic breakthroughs.

The Wall Street Journal published a lengthy account over the weekend examining how local investigators have handled the Guthrie case, a report that prompted Nanos to take to social media in defense of his department. He said he has no doubt the case will be solved.

Savannah Guthrie marks six months with a public plea

On Saturday, Savannah Guthrie posted on Instagram marking six months since her mother's disappearance. She urged anyone who might recognize the writing in the ransom notes to come forward.

"There is a way to end this situation and do the right thing."

The Pima County Sheriff's Office has asked the public to examine the notes' language closely, saying a friend, family member, coworker, or acquaintance may recognize the patterns of expression and possess information that could help identify the person responsible.

Meanwhile, retired FBI agents have pointed to disagreement within the bureau over how evidence in the case has been handled, a sign that the investigative friction extends beyond the sheriff's office.

Nanos himself faces broader questions about his conduct in office. Pima County supervisors recently sent perjury allegations against him to the Arizona attorney general, a separate matter that nonetheless colors public confidence in his credibility.

An 84-year-old woman has been missing for half a year. Her family has put up a million dollars. The FBI has put up a hundred thousand. The sheriff told the country he had no note, and then produced two. When the people running the investigation cannot keep their own public statements straight, it is fair to ask what else they have gotten wrong.