FBI Reverses Course on Nancy Guthrie Ransom Notes, Says Some May Be Legitimate as Kidnapping Probe Continues

TUCSON, Ariz. — The FBI reversed its earlier public assessment of ransom notes in the Nancy Guthrie disappearance case Wednesday, clarifying that while some of the communications have been deemed fraudulent, others may still be legitimate and remain under active investigation, a significant reversal from a report published just a day earlier that said all three notes had been determined to be fake.

The Phoenix FBI field office posted the clarification to its social media accounts after an anonymous official's comments to Reuters on Tuesday sparked widespread reporting that all three ransom notes sent to media organizations in connection with Guthrie's disappearance had been assessed as not credible. TMZ subsequently published an update indicating that law enforcement sources were refuting that characterization, prompting the FBI to step in with a more precise statement.

"The FBI and its task force partners have received several ransom notes over the course of this investigation," the Phoenix FBI office said in its official statement. "Some have been deemed to be extortion attempts without legitimacy. Other ransom demands may potentially be legitimate, and are still being investigated as such."

The statement notably confirmed that the FBI continues to investigate Guthrie's disappearance as a kidnapping for ransom case, maintaining the core framing of the investigation that has been in place since authorities first labeled the case a likely abduction in early February, when Guthrie was reported missing from her Tucson home.

The Pima County Sheriff's Department, which is leading the broader investigation in coordination with the FBI, issued its own statement Wednesday indicating that every tip and lead received is taken seriously and forwarded directly to detectives working alongside federal agents.

Guthrie, 84 and in frail health with limited mobility, was last seen alive on January 31, when her daughter Annie Guthrie and son-in-law Tommaso Cioni dropped her off at her home in the Catalina Foothills area of Tucson at approximately 9:50 p.m. At 1:47 a.m., a masked individual wearing black latex gloves, a backpack and what appeared to be a holstered weapon was captured on footage later recovered from Nancy's doorbell camera, which the individual appeared to disable. Less than an hour later, her pacemaker monitoring app disconnected from her home, a moment investigators now believe may correspond to when she was forcibly removed from the residence. Her disappearance was reported the following morning after she failed to appear for a scheduled church service livestream.

Blood drops found on the front porch of the home were later confirmed by DNA testing to belong to Guthrie. Investigators also found that she had left behind essential items, including her wallet, cellphone, hearing aid and medication.

Three days after the disappearance, TMZ announced it had received a ransom note demanding $4 million in bitcoin for Guthrie's return. The note described her as "safe but scared" and contained details about her home that had not been publicly disclosed at the time, including a description of the floodlight in her backyard and what she was wearing when abducted, lending the communication an early degree of credibility among investigators. A deadline for payment was included, with a warning attached.

The FBI subsequently deposited $152 into the cryptocurrency address specified in the note, a small test designed to determine whether anyone on the other end would claim or move the funds. Shortly afterward, a second ransom email arrived from the same IP address, this one claiming that Guthrie had died, that her abductors had never intended to harm her, and that she had perished shortly after being taken and was now "buried in nature." The note offered to deliver her body to the family in exchange for $4 million.

The day after receiving that second note, Savannah Guthrie posted a video to Instagram with her brother Camron and sister Annie, directly addressing the apparent kidnappers.

"We beg you now to return our mother to us, so that we can celebrate with her," Savannah said in the video. "This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay."

TMZ founder Harvey Levin subsequently disclosed that he had received additional messages beyond the original two, all of which he said he shared with the FBI. The most recent message he received, sent from what appeared to be the same email address as the first two, claimed that a video of Guthrie was stored on a cellphone in a secure location and once again demanded Bitcoin in exchange for information.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has maintained public skepticism about the notes throughout the case. Speaking on Tucson radio station KVOI AM 1030's Buckmaster Show on June 26, Nanos cast doubt on the authenticity of the latest communication from the same sender.

"I think the FBI has done a number of arrests for false or fake ransom notes," Nanos told host Bill Buckmaster. "It's a shame that that happens, but I think we're looking at another one of those today with what's been reported. But we'll let the FBI do their work."

The sheriff's public skepticism now sits in awkward tension with the FBI's Wednesday clarification that some notes may still prove legitimate, illustrating the complexity of a case that has produced conflicting signals throughout its now five-month duration.

In a separate but related legal development, federal agents had already moved against one confirmed fraud in the case. Derrick Callella was arrested and charged with two counts of harassment by telecommunications device for sending an imposter ransom demand via text message to Savannah Guthrie's sister and brother-in-law on Feb. 4. Callella had pleaded not guilty but a change-of-plea hearing in his case was set for Thursday in federal court in Tucson, according to court records.

No suspects or persons of interest in Guthrie's actual disappearance have been publicly named by the Pima County Sheriff's Department, leaving the investigation in an unresolved state nearly five months after she vanished.

Savannah Guthrie addressed the timeline of the case and its toll on her family in a statement to local Tucson news outlet 13 News.

"It is five months of agony and unending trauma for our family," Savannah said. "There is not a moment that goes by that we aren't actively trying to find our mom. We thank the people of Tucson for holding her in their hearts, as well as both the FBI and the Pima County Sheriff's Office for their tireless work on behalf of our family."

She closed with the same plea her family has repeated throughout the investigation.

"Bring her home," she said.