Local and federal authorities said Friday they are reviewing what they’re calling a “new message” in the disappearance of Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie’s mother, Nancy Guthrie, as the high-profile search continues.
Pima County sheriff’s deputies briefly cleared the street in front of Nancy Guthrie’s home while detectives returned to search the property. Officials say the FBI has confirmed receipt of a second message and investigators are “actively inspecting the information provided in the message for its authenticity.” The FBI has not disclosed the message’s contents.
The new message comes after investigators said they were taking an earlier, unverified ransom note seriously. That note reportedly demanded payment in Bitcoin and set two deadlines; one deadline passed without any way for negotiators to re-establish contact. It remains unclear whether the new message and the earlier note are related.
Law enforcement has been cautious about releasing details about how the home was entered, saying entry and exit information is critical to the case. According to an updated timeline released by authorities, there was roughly a 41-minute window from when a doorbell camera disconnected to when an app tied to Nancy Guthrie’s pacemaker disconnected from a phone left at the home. Within that span, software detected movement at about 2:12 a.m., but it was not recorded.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said investigators have not identified a suspect and that “nobody’s ruled out” anyone as of Friday. He added the family is devastated and the FBI and sheriff’s office are continuing their work. Officials have asked the public for help as the search and investigation proceed. Jonathan Vigliotti reported.
