Nancy Guthrie Case: Note to Media Says Savannah Guthrie's Mom Is Dead

FBI Releases Images of Potential Subject in Nancy Guthrie Investigation

The search for Nancy Guthrie has unfolded in a tragic note.

A second letter sent to media outlets following the February disappearance of Savannah Guthrie's mom indicated that the 84-year-old has died, three people familiar with the situation told NBC News.

While the first ransom note said Nancy was safe and requested cryptocurrency in exchange for her release, the second did not contain an apology or ask for money, according to the outlet. Both letters were sent to the news director for NBC News' Arizona affiliate KOLD, Jessica Bobula.

Investigators involved in the case have examined the two notes and believe they are potentially credible, NBC News reported.

Nancy was last seen by her family at her Tucson, Ariz., home at approximately 9:30 p.m. Jan. 31. She was reported missing on Feb. 1.

Amid a police investigation, authorities released surveillance footage of a masked individual approaching Nancy's home on the morning of her disappearance, citing the person as a "suspect."

On Feb. 7, the Today co-host and her siblings Camron Guthrie and Annie Guthrie posted a video saying they received a message from possible abductors.

"We beg you now to return our mother to us so we can celebrate with her," Savannah said in the clip. "This is the only way we can have peace. This is very valuable to us and we will pay."

Arizona's Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has not disclosed what officers found at the scene of Nancy's home, though he did confirm homicide detectives had been present.

"It's not standard," he said in a February press conference. "Typically, our homicide team comes out when we have a homicide, a body. This one was done simply because of what the surveyors were telling us."

"I hope we find her safe and sound," he continued, "but we cannot ignore what's in front of us."

Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images

During the press conference, authorities also said that they do not believe Nancy left her home on her own accord.

"Miss Guthrie is 84 years old and is not in good physical health," Nanos explained. "She has no cognitive issues at all—just some physical ailments that limit her ability to move around."

Over the years, Savannah has been candid about her close relationship with Nancy, and how much she admired her mother.

“She’s lived a life of integrity and loyalty. She is a consistent doer of the right thing and the hard thing,” Savannah said in January 2022. “She’s a truth teller, whether you really want to hear the truth or not. She’s quick and she’s smart, she’s well-read, she’s curious about everything.”

Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images

Her sister Annie had described Nancy as their "beacon" of light.

"She holds fast to joy in all of life's circumstances. She chooses joy day after day, despite having already passed through great trials of pain and grief," Annie shared in the Feb. 4 video with her siblings. "We are always going to be merely human, just normal human people who need our mom."

For a closer look into the case of Nancy's disappearance, read on.

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