Investigators are reviewing a possible new ransom note in Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance, though a source close to the case says none are treated as credible.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said Tuesday that its joint task force with the FBI has been made aware of a possible new ransom note tied to the long-running search for Nancy Guthrie, the mother of NBC “TODAY” host Savannah Guthrie.
Fox News reported that deputies and federal agents are weighing the note’s credibility, including social media chatter about it, while a law enforcement source close to the case said no new notes are being treated as genuine.
Nancy Guthrie was taken from her Tucson, Arizona, home in the early hours of Feb. 1 and has not been seen since. She was last seen shortly before 10 p.m. local time on Jan. 31 after a relative dropped her off in the Catalina Foothills area.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos made the core fact plain in the days after she vanished.
At a news briefing, Nanos said:
"She did not leave on her own. We know that."
In a Tuesday post on X, the department put the latest development on the record without releasing the note’s text or saying who sent it.
A spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department stated:
"The PCSD/FBI Guthrie Task Force was recently made aware of a new possible ransom note related to the Nancy Guthrie investigation,"
The same statement continued:
"Investigators are also aware of social media comments regarding the note and are looking further into the information to determine its credibility,"
Breitbart noted that the item under review would be a third letter linked to the case, nearly eight months after Guthrie was taken from her Tucson-area home. Investigators have not released its contents and have signaled skepticism about its validity.
That caution fits the case history. A California man was previously sentenced for sending a fake ransom note in the Guthrie investigation, a reminder that false leads can drain time and attention from a still-open search.
Authorities have already dealt with two ransom notes sent days after the disappearance. The first, sent Feb. 2, said Guthrie was unharmed and demanded $4 million in cryptocurrency for her release.
The second, sent Feb. 6, claimed she had died shortly after she was kidnapped. Reporting on those messages also described a demand for $4 million in Bitcoin and a claim that she had “perished” after the abduction.
In late July, the PCSD and FBI released the two notes publicly. Officials pointed to a unique writing style and asked anyone who recognized the patterns to come forward.
Missing-person billboards went up in Phoenix on Feb. 6, 2026. On Aug. 1, 2026, Savannah Guthrie posted a photo of her mother on Instagram. The family has continued to press the public for help identifying whoever took her, and a reward tied to the case has remained part of the public appeal.
A masked man appeared on Guthrie’s Ring doorbell camera, and investigators have struggled to lock in a named suspect or person of interest from that footage.
A source familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital that two photos of the suspect in the doorbell video were taken on different days, a detail that deepens the puzzle rather than closing it.
No arrest or charges tied to the kidnapping itself appear in the public updates surrounding the latest note review. Guthrie’s status remains unknown. The earlier note that claimed she had died has never been verified as fact by authorities, who still describe an active investigation.
Tips can go to 1-800-CALL-FBI or, anonymously, to 520-88-CRIME.
The official line is careful: the task force was “made aware” of a possible new note and is checking it against social media noise. The source close to the case is blunter, no new notes are being handled as credible.
Both can be true at once. Police have to run down what lands on their desk. They also have to protect a serious case from another false trail, especially after a prior fake note already produced a criminal sentence.
What has not changed is the basic record. A woman was taken from her Tucson home. Her sheriff said she did not walk away. Ransom messages followed within days, one claiming she was alive and worth $4 million in crypto, another claiming she was already dead. Months later, the public still has no suspect in custody and no confirmed fate for Nancy Guthrie.
Families in cases like this do not need viral notes. They need verified evidence, identified offenders, and a justice system that finishes the job.
