Second note said Nancy Guthrie died after abduction, sources say

A grim message comes into public view

A second note sent to a Tucson television station days after Nancy Guthrie vanished said the 84-year-old died shortly after she was taken and was “buried in nature,” sources familiar with the investigation told ABC News.abcnews Authorities have now released the note, but they have not said whether Guthrie is alive or confirmed its account.pbs

Guthrie, the mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie, disappeared from her Tucson-area home in the early hours of Feb. 1. Investigators have treated the case as an abduction; no suspect has been publicly identified, and Guthrie’s whereabouts remain unknown.cbsnews +1

Two notes, and an unresolved question of credibility

The first message, sent Feb. 2, demanded $4 million in cryptocurrency and claimed Guthrie would be returned unharmed after payment. The second arrived Feb. 6, said she had died and ended with an apology.pbs ABC News reported that the family received both messages through Tucson media outlets and that investigators considered them potentially credible enough for the FBI to try to trace their origin.abcnews

That assessment is not a final authentication. The FBI said in July that some messages in the case had been dismissed as illegitimate extortion attempts, while other ransom demands remained under investigation as potentially genuine. The bureau said the matter continued to be handled as a kidnapping-for-ransom case.theguardian Savannah Guthrie’s Feb. 7 statement — “We received your message and we understand” — came one day after the second note, though she did not disclose what the family had received.abcnews

Physical evidence keeps the investigation active

The notes sit alongside evidence recovered at the home. Blood found outside the front door was confirmed as Nancy Guthrie’s, while investigators also examined material from inside the house.cbsnews The FBI later began advanced testing of a hair sample collected in February after a private laboratory transferred it to the bureau; officials cautioned that this was not newly discovered DNA.abcnews

Retired FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer has argued publicly that the missed medication, blood and second message collectively suggest Guthrie is probably dead.thenews Her conclusion is expert commentary, not an official finding. Investigators have also released doorbell-camera images of a masked man, and authorities said two recovered clips may come from separate days — a detail they believe could indicate advance planning.pbs +1

The sheriff’s department is asking anyone who recognizes the notes’ language or knows someone whose behavior changed around the abduction to come forward.pbs Until physical evidence establishes what happened, the newly public message sharpens the case’s darkest possibility without resolving it.