What Nancy Guthrie Ransom Note Reveals About Suspect

As more details emerge about a second ransom note that indicates the death of Nancy Guthrie, a former FBI agent has shared his thoughts on what the language of the letter says about the potential suspect.

NewsNation’s Brian Entin, who has been closely following the case from the start, reported earlier this week that “The second ransom note said [Nancy] died and was ‘buried with nature now.'” The note, which was sent to a local Arizona TV station, also “indicated Nancy’s death was not intentional, but did not offer a direct apology.”

“A lot of times when you have an offender that softens or uses abstract language, like ‘buried in nature,’ it’s almost poetic,” Carr told Elizabeth Vargas Reports. “And people have a tendency to do that in order to distance themselves from the violent act itself.”

Carr said that suspects often use such poetic language “in order to put themselves in a better light by reducing their own guilt by romanticizing what just happened or what happened.”

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.

Carr also touched on the mention of Nancy’s death not being “intentional,” explaining, “Most individuals, when usually you’re looking for truthful disclosures saying what happened, where, when, who was involved, a lot of times the phrase ‘not intentional’ is just a word that suggests awareness of their culpability of what they’re doing.”

“I think the writer’s main issue here is their central issue is the intent, what they want the message to get across to the public that’s hearing this,” he added.

Back in February, a ransom note was sent to TMZ and other outlets, demanding 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.” TMZ also received a second note, which they say made no mention of Nancy’s death.

ABC News reported on Monday (June 22) that the Arizona TV station confirmed it received the “buried in nature” note. That TV station kept tight-lipped about the second note at the time it was received.

Authorities also believe the two notes were sent by the same person or group, per CBS News. The outlet reports that investigators familiar with the case believe both were likely sent from the same IP address, and it is thought likely that they are from the actual perpetrator(s).