“The Pima County Sheriff’s Department continues to work closely with the FBI as investigators follow leads, review information and investigate the facts surrounding this case,” a Sheriff’s Department spokesperson said.
The BBC contacted the FBI, who spent time with Pima County month of investigation the mysterious kidnapping of the elder Guthrie from her home near Tucson, Arizona.
The BBC’s U.S. partner, CBS, and other media outlets reported Monday that law enforcement had asked media outlets to suspend publication of details of the notes while they investigated Guthrie’s disappearance.
Nancy Guthrie disappeared after being dropped off at her home by relatives on January 31. Concern grew when she didn’t go to a friend’s house to attend a virtual Sunday church service the next morning.
A first ransom demand was sent the day after his disappearance and demanded millions of bitcoins for his release.
He gave specific details about his house, as well as details about his bedroom and the area around the house, investigators told CBS.
The note was reportedly addressed to Savannah Guthrie, co-anchor of NBC’s Today show. It was sent to several media outlets, including a local television station, which reportedly responded to a police request not to disclose its contents.
It is only now being learned that a second note – sent on February 6 – used similar language to the first, but contained no demands, but apologized for his death and said it was inadvertent.
After the two notes, Savannah Guthrie and her siblings released a video addressed to the kidnappers.
“We received your message and we understand,” the NBC host said. “We now beg you to return our mother to us.” She said the family would “pay.”
Authorities and Guthrie’s family repeatedly issued public warnings that the elderly victim was in poor health and lacked essential medications.
As the search continued, authorities released images of a masked person who was seen on security camera footage outside his home.
The Guthrie family had offered a reward of one million dollars (£760,000), in addition to the $100,000 promised by the FBI, for information leading to the return of Nancy Guthrie.
On February 24, Savannah Guthrie said they would remain hopeful, even though they “know that she may be lost, that she may already be gone.”
In a March interview with NBC, Guthrie said several ransom demands had been sent and she believed some of them were false. She also told the network that her family believed the two initial notes were authentic.
Guthrie stepped away from NBC’s Today show for more than two months while the investigation was underway. She returned to the program in early April while the search continued.
