Nancy Guthrie Ransom Note Reportedly Included ‘Apology’ for Her Death

Nancy Guthrie has been missing for almost five months, with no public updates on her whereabouts. Now a new report says that a ransom note sent days after Guthrie went missing included an “apology” for her death. Investigators are also criticized over an early decision they made that could have been a “fatal mistake.”

According to Air Mail, a decision the FBI made regarding a ransom note received back in February could have been a major misstep. The note, sent to TMZ and other outlets, demanded that the Guthrie family pay upwards of $4 million to a Bitcoin wallet address in exchange for Nancy, who the letter claimed was “safe but scared.”

Nancy, the 84-year-old mother of Today‘s Savannah Guthrie, went missing on February 1, when police believe she was abducted from her home in Tucson, Arizona. Investigators have released doorbell camera footage of a masked suspect and sent DNA for testing at the FBI lab in Quantico, but no suspects have been named.

The original ransom note stated that payment should be made within four days or that the demand would increase. Rather than pay the ransom, the task force attempted to “tickle the wire,” per the outlet, by having the Guthrie family deposit $152 into the wallet. The hope was to track the alleged kidnappers once they withdrew the cash. However, the money was never touched, and the abductors couldn’t be tracked.

A second note was sent on February 6, which allegedly included an “apology,” suggesting Nancy had died. The message went on to say that Nancy’s body could be returned for the same amount of $4 million.

Sources told Air Mail that the FBI had sorted these messages from potential kidnappers into “the good, the bad, and the ugly,” with the “apology” note listed in the “bad” category.

In a February Instagram video, posted just days after the “apology” note was sent, an emotional Savannah sent a message to the alleged abductors. “We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay,” she said.

Savannah and her family have also offered a $1 million reward for Nancy’s recovery and/or an arrest.