Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos went on an Arizona radio show last week and said what many following the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping case already suspected: the newest alleged ransom note is probably a fraud. Five months after the 84-year-old mother of "Today" show anchor Savannah Guthrie vanished from her Tucson home, the investigation is drowning in false leads, and the people behind them are facing federal consequences.
Nanos appeared on KVOI AM 1030's "Buckmaster Show" on June 26, the same day TMZ reported receiving a new emailed demand. USA TODAY reported that the sheriff expressed clear skepticism about the note's legitimacy and pointed to a pattern of fraudulent communications that have plagued the case from its earliest days.
The note, which USA TODAY said it had not viewed or authenticated, allegedly offered the password to a phone stored in a "secure location", in exchange for Bitcoin. It claimed two people were responsible for Guthrie's kidnapping and said the phone contained video of the "main guy," photos of "both involved," and "names and addresses and age." Most chillingly, it allegedly referenced footage of Guthrie on "the day that was probably her last."
Nanos told listeners:
"I think the FBI has done a number of arrests for false or fake ransom notes. It's a shame that that happens, but I think we're looking at another one of those today with what's been reported. But we'll let the FBI do their work."
He went further, describing how the public attention that can help solve a case also attracts bad actors who exploit a family's desperation for profit or notoriety.
"People who call in fake ransom notes, people who claim [false information] for the sake of media and the family, they get out and disturb, in this case, an entire neighborhood."
The FBI, when reached by USA TODAY, offered its standard line: it does "not comment on ongoing investigations." The Pima County Sheriff's Department also declined to comment. TMZ said it forwarded the email to federal investigators.
This is not the first time someone has tried to cash in on the Guthrie family's anguish. Newsmax reported that federal authorities arrested an individual for sending a bogus ransom note as early as February 5, just days after Guthrie disappeared. FBI Special Agent in Charge Jon Edwards warned at the time: "To those imposters who are trying to take advantage of profit from this situation, we will investigate and ensure you are held accountable for your actions."
Nancy Guthrie was last seen entering the garage of her Catalina Foothills home on the evening of January 31, after having dinner with family nearby. She was reported missing the next morning. Within days, the FBI released images of an armed, unidentified individual appearing to tamper with her front door camera in the early hours of February 1.
National Review documented that FBI Director Kash Patel released recovered doorbell camera footage showing a masked figure with a backpack and an apparent holstered weapon attempting to disable the camera at 1:47 a.m. Bloodstains confirmed to be Nancy Guthrie's were found at the scene. A bloodstain pattern analysis expert described it as a "drip trail," consistent with a bleeding individual.
Unverified ransom notes began circulating within days of the abduction. Savannah Guthrie posted an Instagram video on February 4 addressing whoever took her mother: "We want to hear from you and we are ready to listen." Three days later, she acknowledged a second note in another video.
"We received your message and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay."
The family offered a $1 million reward in late February. The FBI had earlier authorized its own $50,000 reward, later doubled to $100,000, as the Washington Examiner reported. Gloves found roughly a mile from the crime scene were sent to a Florida DNA lab for analysis, and Nanos pushed back against reports suggesting he had withheld evidence from federal investigators, saying both agencies agreed on the lab decision.
The scale of the hoax problem in this case is striking. By March 26, when Savannah Guthrie sat down with "Today" co-host Hoda Kotb, she acknowledged the sheer volume of bogus communications that had reached the family and media outlets.
"There are a lot of different notes, I think that came. And I think most of them, it's my understanding, are not real. But I believe the two notes that we received that we responded to, I tend to believe those were real."
The distinction matters. Savannah Guthrie has tried to separate genuine communications from the noise, even as one note reportedly included an apology for Nancy's death, shifting the investigation's focus toward homicide.
On June 22, NBC News, ABC News, and CBS News all reported on a note sent to multiple outlets early in the case that claimed Guthrie was dead. NBC and ABC cited unnamed people "familiar with" the matter; CBS referred to "sources who reviewed the notes." The Associated Press reported that a ransom note received by CNN and Tucson TV station KOLD indicated Nancy Guthrie's death was unintentional, occurring shortly after her abduction. KOLD's news director, Jessica Bobula, said the station received several notes, notified authorities, and shared only what the FBI cleared for release.
The day after those reports broke, Savannah Guthrie said she didn't "have any comment on the story" and noted she was "not involved in our coverage" for NBC. But she made a broader plea:
"Somebody knows something, and this is a news story today that is on your radar, but this is the life that 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. We cannot be at peace."
TMZ reported that the June 26 email came from the same address and Bitcoin wallet used by someone who contacted the outlet shortly after Guthrie's disappearance in February. TMZ said it asked the sender to share a screenshot of Guthrie from the alleged video to prove the note's authenticity. Whether the sender responded is not known.
The new demand letter's claims about two suspects and video evidence have drawn attention, but Nanos's public posture suggests law enforcement views this latest communication with deep suspicion.
His skepticism is grounded in experience. The FBI has already made multiple arrests for fake ransom notes in this case. Every fraudulent lead burns investigative hours and inflicts fresh pain on a family that has now spent five months in limbo. Nanos described it plainly: "it is a shame that these type of events occur," adding that public interest "gets really abused."
Meanwhile, former FBI agents have suggested investigators may be closing in on the masked suspect captured on doorbell camera footage the night Guthrie vanished. But the official investigation remains tight-lipped. No suspects in the actual kidnapping have been publicly identified.
Nancy Guthrie remains missing. No confirmed evidence has emerged publicly indicating whether she is alive or dead. The FBI has not confirmed or denied the authenticity of any ransom note beyond declining to comment. The specific Bitcoin amount demanded in the latest note has not been disclosed. The total number of alleged ransom notes received across all outlets and the family is unknown.
An anonymous tip even sent a Mexican search team looking for remains near Nogales, near the border, another lead whose outcome remains unclear.
What is clear is that the case has become a magnet for opportunists. Every hoax ransom note diverts federal resources, torments a grieving family, and makes the real investigation harder. Sheriff Nanos and the FBI have signaled they will prosecute these fraudsters, and they should. But prosecution after the fact is cold comfort when the core question, what happened to Nancy Guthrie on the night of January 31, remains unanswered.
Law enforcement is asking anyone with genuine information to contact 1-800-CALL-FBI, tips.fbi.gov, the Pima County Sheriff's Department at 520-351-4900, or 88-CRIME.
An 84-year-old woman is gone. Her family is begging for answers. And somewhere, someone is still trying to turn that suffering into Bitcoin. That tells you something about the kind of people law enforcement is dealing with, and about how badly this case needs a break.
