A purported ransom note in Nancy Guthrie’s apparent kidnapping demanded $6 million, according to a report aired Sunday.
Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, disappeared from her Tucson, Ariz., home on Feb. 1 and has not been seen since. Multiple ransom notes have been sent to local news outlets, and one included specific details from the crime scene at Guthrie’s home and a demand for $6 million, Tucson ABC affiliate KGUN reported Sunday.
The station has since deleted social media videos that mentioned the ransom demand and removed the number from its online article.
Savannah Guthrie shared a video Saturday alongside her siblings, telling any kidnappers, “We will pay” for the safe return of Nancy.
“We received your message, and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her,” she said in the Instagram video. “This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”
Police have said they have no suspects or people of interest in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie. She was last seen Jan. 31 at dinner with her daughter Annie, but she was reported missing after failing to attend church the following day.
Cops said the scene indicated Guthrie did not just wander off and leave voluntarily. There was reportedly blood inside Guthrie’s home and on the front steps of her house.
Authorities have not publicly confirmed the ransom notes sent to local Tucson TV stations and national outlet TMZ are legitimate. All the notes demanded money in Bitcoin, according to the stations. One California man was arrested last week for sending fake ransom notes in the case.
A former FBI deputy director told CNN on Sunday that Savannah Guthrie and her siblings had likely worked with the FBI in crafting Saturday’s Instagram post.
“There is no question in my mind that every word of that statement was carefully honed with the assistance of the FBI experts who are advising the family,” Andrew McCabe told the station.
