The Nancy Guthrie ransom note investigation has taken a somber turn, with authorities now believing that two notes sent to her family, including one claiming she had died, likely came from the very person or people who abducted her. According to investigators familiar with the case, both notes appear to have originated from the same source and were sent from the same computer IP address.

Two Notes, One Apparent Source

The two messages arrived just days apart and told a chilling story.

The first note demanded millions in bitcoin in exchange for Nancy Guthrie’s release. The second, sent a few days later, delivered devastating news: the apparent abductors revealed that she had died. According to sources who reviewed the notes, the message suggested her death had not been intended.

Investigators believe the same individual or group authored both, citing similarities in language and the shared IP address as key indicators.

The Family Believes the Notes Are Real

Nancy Guthrie’s daughter, “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie, addressed the notes in a March interview with NBC. She explained that many different notes had reportedly surfaced, most of which the family understood to be fake and which she never personally saw.

However, she drew a distinction for the two notes the family actually received and responded to. Those, she said, she tends to believe are authentic.

A Disturbing Level of Detail

The first note arrived on February 2, just one day after the 84-year-old was reported missing from her home in Tucson, Arizona. It was sent to three media outlets, two local news stations and TMZ, through their online tip lines, and was addressed directly to Savannah Guthrie.

What unsettled investigators was the note’s specificity. It included intimate details about Guthrie’s home, such as:

• An Apple Watch with a white band lying on her bedroom floor
• A broken light on her back porch

These details suggested the sender had firsthand knowledge of the scene. The second note, sent on February 6, mirrored the first in language and style but, notably, made no demands.

The Family’s Public Plea

After receiving the second note, Savannah Guthrie and her siblings turned to social media, posting an Instagram video that directly addressed their mother’s captors.

In it, she said the family had received and understood the message, and she begged for their mother’s return so they could be reunited. She emphasized how much it meant to them and pledged that the family would pay.

An Emotional Appeal on Live Television

Appearing on the “Today” show Tuesday, Savannah Guthrie offered emotional remarks while carefully declining to comment on the specific reports about the ransom notes. She acknowledged the surreal nature of the moment, noting she had no comment on the story and was not involved in its coverage.

Instead, she used the platform to make a heartfelt appeal to the public. She urged anyone with information to come forward, insisting that someone out there must know something. Describing the family’s anguish, she said they could find no peace and pleaded desperately for help.

How to Help

The investigation remains active, with a task force of FBI agents and Pima County detectives continuing to search for both Nancy Guthrie and her abductors.

Authorities are urging anyone with information to contact the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324). The Guthrie family is offering a $1 million reward, in addition to the FBI’s reward of up to $100,000.

The case remains a painful and unresolved ordeal for the Guthrie family, who continue to hold out hope for answers even as the circumstances grow increasingly grim.