Arizona police are probing an alleged ransom note demanding millions for the safe return of Today show host Savannah Guthrie’s missing mother.
The note, emailed to TMZ, has not been confirmed as genuine. It demands that a Bitcoin payment be initiated if they want to see the 84-year-old widowed mother of three again.
“We are aware of reports circulating about possible ransom note(s) regarding the investigation into Nancy Guthrie,” the Pima County Sheriff’s Department wrote in a statement. “We are taking all tips and leads very seriously. Anything that comes in goes directly to our detectives, who are coordinating with the FBI.”
The department did not respond to a request for additional information about the note and its investigation of it.
TMZ reported that it received the supposed ransom note via email on Tuesday morning. Guthrie was reported missing Sunday and is believed to have been abducted, says Sheriff Chris Nanos.
The entertainment tabloid did not disclose exactly how much money was demanded, but said the total is “in the millions,” and it was requested to be sent to a specific cryptocurrency address. It vaguely writes, “There is a deadline connected to the alleged ransom … and an element of ‘or else.’”
TMZ said that it forwarded the note, which claims to have knowledge of what Guthrie was wearing and of specific damage done to her house, to local cops in Southern Arizona.
Many fear the worst as Nanos says that Guthrie, who is physically handicapped but still “sharp as a tack,” is without the medication she needs to survive. Adding to her loved one’s angst, a new video outside her home shows drops of blood by her front door, where a Ring doorbell camera is also missing, reports NewsNation.
A law enforcement source told Fox News that Guthrie’s pacemaker stopped syncing with her Apple devices around predawn Sunday. She was last seen at her own home on Saturday evening and was reported missing the following day after she did not attend church.
Nanos has said Guthrie’s disappearance is being probed as a “crime,” but has not said who she may have been targeted by and what a potential motive may be. No persons of interest have been publicly identified, and Nanos said Monday evening there had been no ransom demands at that time.
Making matters more difficult for investigators is the setup of Guthrie’s affluent Catalina Foothills neighborhood north of Tucson. There are no streetlights and Guthrie’s neighbors, who live in homes each worth over $1 million, are so spread out that there are believed to be no witnesses or helpful footage from other Ring doorbell cameras in the area.
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