A second message sent to the media by people claiming responsibility for Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance said she is dead, multiple news outlets reported on Monday.
According to sources close to the investigation, who have spoken to NBC News, ABC News and elsewhere, the follow-up message that surfaced in the weeks after the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie’s mother alleged she was dead — but did not offer an apology or a request for money to release the body.
The note in question was reported at the time it was received by a handful of national and local media outlets; however, the contents of the notes were notably not shared.
TMZ, who received a number of messages throughout the early days of Guthrie’s disappearance from the alleged kidnappers, denied that the second note claimed Guthrie had died in a video from founder Harvey Levin on Monday.
“I want to talk about Nancy Guthrie and some communications I’ve had with the FBI that I haven’t talked about until now,” Levin said. “I want to start with these reports that this ransom letter that we received kind of apologizes to Savannah Guthrie and her family for the kidnapping and that Nancy was no longer alive. That was not in the ransom note that we received.”
He continued: “It is not in that ransom note at all. It does say that she’s scared, but okay. But the ransom note makes no reference to Nancy Guthrie either dying or the kidnappers apologizing.”
Levin did note that they were alerted to Guthrie’s possible death in email notes from someone claiming to know of the matriarch’s whereabouts – but requested money for the information.
“This person kept sending us emails and early on he said time is of the essence,” Levin added. “And then a few days after the kidnapping he said time is no longer of the essence, meaning she wasn’t alive.”
Watch TMZ’s full video statement below:
Guthrie was last seen on the evening of Jan. 31, when family dropped her off at her Tucson home following a dinner and a game night. However, by late-midday on Feb. 1, the elder Guthrie was reported missing after she didn’t show up at a friend’s place to watch a virtual church service. Pima County investigators later shared that they believed Guthrie was taken against her will.
Guthrie’s security camera, which had been disabled, later revealed images of a man in a ski mask, jacket, gloves and a backpack outside her property. FBI Phoenix later described the suspect “as a male, approximately 5’9” – 5’10” tall, with an average build.”
Savannah, along with her siblings, have made several public pleas for their mother’s safe return.
No one has been arrested or named a suspect in connection with Guthrie’s disappearance, despite multiple searches, analyzed DNA, alleged ransom notes and more.
However, earlier in June, a volunteer search group in Mexico claimed they received a tip was buried in an unmarked grave near the border. They since conducted several volunteer searches in Mexico near the border.
The searches conducted by Buscando Corazones Nogales have come up empty to date.
The post Nancy Guthrie Case: Kidnapper’s 2nd Alleged Note to Media Claimed She’s Dead appeared first on TheWrap.
