Federal agents now say the supposed ransom notes in the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie's mother were never the real thing. In what the Daily Beast calls an "astonishing new twist" in the case, an FBI official tells Reuters that all three communications tied to Nancy Guthrie's disappearance—including two early ransom demands and a later message claiming to know the kidnappers—have been found to be bogus. "None of the ransom notes are believed to be genuine," the official notes. The finding undercuts the assumption that the 84-year-old was taken for money, though the case out of Tucson, Arizona, is still being treated as an active investigation.
The FBI says the first two notes came from the same sender; agents even sent a small amount of cryptocurrency to the wallet listed in the initial demand, but it went untouched. The Pima County Sheriff's Department declined comment on the notes, saying only that DNA samples and video evidence are still being analyzed. Last week, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos had expressed skepticism that the notes were authentic, but he said he'd let the FBI figure that out for sure, per USA Today.
Guthrie, who was in poor health and had limited mobility, vanished after an evening with family on Jan. 31. Surveillance video previously released showed an armed, masked prowler at her door not long before she was abducted. DNA from a glove nearby hasn't matched anyone in federal databases. The family continues to offer a $1 million reward and appeal publicly for information.
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