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Federal investigators have ruled out the authenticity of ransom notes linked to the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie.
According to Reuters, the FBI determined that three separate communications (two sent in early February and a third received last week) were not genuine.
"None of the ransom notes are believed to be genuine," one FBI official said, speaking anonymously due to the ongoing investigation. A second law enforcement source confirmed the assessment.
The first note, delivered to TMZ just days after Guthrie vanished from her Tucson, Arizona home, demanded "millions" in cryptocurrency and set deadlines for February 5 and 9. A follow-up message suggested Guthrie had died, but did not ask for payment.
To test the claims, investigators deposited a small amount of cryptocurrency into the account mentioned in the first note. The money was never touched, reinforcing suspicions that the sender was not connected to the crime.
A third message surfaced last week, with someone claiming to know the kidnappers' identities and even possessing video evidence. The FBI has also dismissed that communication as fake, though details of how they reached that conclusion were not disclosed.
A spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriff's Department, which is leading the investigation, declined to comment on the ransom notes, saying only that "this is still an active investigation."
Nancy Guthrie was last seen on January 31 at her Tucson home. Surveillance footage captured a masked man tampering with her doorbell camera before she was taken. DNA evidence collected at the scene, including blood on her porch and a glove found nearby, remains under forensic review.
Savannah Guthrie has made repeated public appeals for her mother's return, at one point saying, "we will pay." She and her siblings have also offered a $1 million reward for information. In May, Savannah admitted her family was "blowing on the embers of hope" while acknowledging the possibility her mother "may already be gone."
