New details have emerged in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today host Savannah Guthrie. According to ABC News, the contents of a second ransom note sent to the family have now been disclosed, adding a disturbing layer to a case that has remained unresolved for months and continues to be investigated by federal authorities.
Nancy Guthrie was taken from her home roughly five months ago. According to the reporting, she was seized in the middle of the night by a masked man, and the family began receiving communications from the kidnappers in the days that followed her vanishing, turning a private household into the center of an active investigation.
The first ransom note, according to the account, demanded millions of dollars in cryptocurrency in exchange for her return. The use of cryptocurrency as the requested form of payment has become a recurring feature in cases of this kind, complicating efforts to trace where the demands ultimately lead.
The second note is the one whose contents have now come to light. Sources told ABC News that, in that message, the kidnappers claimed Guthrie had died shortly after she was taken and had been buried in nature. That claim has not been independently confirmed, and it remains one of the central unknowns at the heart of the case.
The FBI, which is leading the investigation, believes that both notes came from the same sender. So far, however, investigators have been unable to determine who that person is. The inability to identify the author of the messages underscores how difficult the case has been to crack despite the time that has passed.
The family, meanwhile, has continued to seek her return. Savannah Guthrie appeared to reference the situation days later in an Instagram post, writing that they had received the message and pleading for their mother to be brought back so they could be reunited, and indicating that they were prepared to pay. The case remains open as authorities work to determine what happened.