FBI says all ransom notes in Nancy Guthrie case are fake

Federal investigators have concluded that all three kidnapping-related messages in the Nancy Guthrie case were fake, wiping out the ransom trail that had shaped public understanding of the Tucson disappearance. An FBI official told Reuters, “None of the ransom notes are believed to be genuine,” and a second law-enforcement source confirmed the assessment.

The finding matters because the messages had framed the case as an apparent extortion plot tied to the vanishing of Savannah Guthrie’s mother from her Tucson home on January 31. The first two notes surfaced in early February, days after Nancy Guthrie disappeared, and a third, later message also turned out to be bogus. The notes were delivered to media outlets, including TMZ, before being handed to authorities, a detail that now raises the possibility that someone tried to steer the investigation and public attention with false communications.

One alleged ransom demand sought millions of dollars in cryptocurrency. Investigators tested it by depositing a small amount of crypto into the specified account, but the payment went unclaimed. That failure became another sign that the note was not authentic, and it left detectives working without the assumption that any ransom contact reflected the people actually responsible for Guthrie’s disappearance.

The case had already pointed to violence. On February 1, a doorbell camera at Guthrie’s home captured a masked man wearing gloves, a backpack and a holstered gun tampering with the device. About a half hour later, her pacemaker app lost contact with her phone line. On February 5, authorities said blood found on Guthrie’s front porch matched her DNA. The family later offered a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to her recovery.

Pima County sheriff’s officials, who are leading the investigation, said the case remains active and that DNA samples and video evidence are still being analyzed. Chris Nanos, the Pima County sheriff, later said he believed a newer alleged ransom note was fake as well. No arrests have been announced, and the suspect remains unidentified.

Savannah Guthrie has publicly said the family believed the notes it responded to were real and asked for tips. She also said on air on June 23 that the family was “in agony” and repeated their belief that her mother may still be alive. With the note trail now collapsing, investigators are left with the physical evidence, the video, and a case that may have been built around a false premise from the beginning.