Nearly five months after Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her Tucson, Arizona home, new details have emerged about the ransom notes investigators received in the days following her abduction - and they paint a deeply troubling picture.
Authorities now believe that two ransom notes sent shortly after Nancy's disappearance were likely written by the person or group responsible for taking her, with investigators tracing both notes to the same computer IP address.
The first note arrived on February 2 - just one day after Nancy went missing. Addressed to Savannah Guthrie and sent to three media outlets including two local Tucson television stations and TMZ, it demanded millions of dollars in Bitcoin for Nancy's release.
What made investigators take it seriously were details about Nancy's home that had never been made public: that an Apple Watch with a white band was on the floor of her bedroom, and that her back porch light was broken.
A second note arrived on February 6. It made no financial demands. According to sources who reviewed it, the note indicated that Nancy had died - and that the apparent abductors did not intend for it to happen.
The day after that second note was received, Savannah Guthrie and her siblings posted a video publicly addressing the kidnappers. "We received your message and we understand," Savannah said. "We beg you now to return our mother to us so we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we can have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay."
There has been some dispute over the exact contents of the notes. TMZ founder Harvey Levin clarified Monday that the ransom note his outlet received said Nancy was "scared but okay" with no reference to her death.
He said the suggestion that she may no longer be alive came instead from a separate individual who sent TMZ multiple emails claiming to know the kidnappers' identity - and who shifted from saying "time is of the essence" to "time is no longer of the essence" within days of the abduction.
Investigators reportedly categorized the ransom communications they received into groups - and developed a profile of the likely abductor as an educated local who targeted Nancy for financial gain.
No suspect has been named. No arrest has been made. The FBI and Pima County task force continue to investigate.
The trial of Derrick Callella - a California man charged with sending separate, unrelated fake Bitcoin ransom texts to the Guthrie family - is scheduled for June 23 in federal court in Tucson.
Nancy's deep Catholic faith has been a thread throughout this case from the very beginning. She was first reported missing when she failed to appear for her Sunday morning church livestream - something her family said she never missed.
Through nearly five months of uncertainty, Savannah has continued to ask publicly for prayer. For the many who have followed this case, that plea has not gone unanswered.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or Tucson's anonymous tip line at 520-882-7463.
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