A leaked ransom note in the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping case claimed the 84‑year‑old Arizona grandmother was dead and 'buried with nature now,' according to a source close to the investigation.
The note, sent days after Guthrie was abducted from her Tucson home on 31 January, reportedly suggested her death was 'not intentional' and contained no demand for money.
Second Nancy Guthrie Ransom Note Claimed 'She Perished Shortly After'
The news reported that a second ransom note emailed to a Tucson TV station stated the 84‑year‑old had died. Citing a source close to the investigation, the note said she was 'buried with nature now' and indicated her death was unintentional, though it stopped short of any clear apology.
The note included lines such as 'She perished shortly after she was taken' and 'She is buried in nature now....' It is also reported that another phrase, 'We are truly sorry,' appeared in the same message.
To clarify what the 2nd ransom note received by our sister station in Tucson actually said about the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping, these are the direct quotes referenced by sources:
— Mac Colson (@MacColsonTV) June 22, 2026
"She perished shortly after she was taken."
"She is buried in nature now..."
"We are truly sorry." pic.twitter.com/sqHek9427N
An earlier report claimed the note apologised for killing Guthrie. However, a source familiar with the investigation said it did not contain a direct apology.
As of this writing, IBTimes UK cannot independently verify these accounts of the ransom note.
First Nancy Guthrie Ransom Note Demanded $4 Million in Bitcoin
To recall, the second Nancy Guthrie ransom note followed an initial email that demanded millions in cryptocurrency in exchange for her safe return. That first message, sent in early February to a Tucson television station and other outlets, asked for a $4 million bitcoin payment and laid out terms for trading Guthrie for the money.
It has reported that the FBI verified those first two notes as legitimate.
Investigators say the initial email displayed detailed knowledge of Guthrie's home, including her bedroom and the surrounding property, fuelling the belief that at least one of the writers had been inside the house or had access to highly specific information.
According to report, the second email on 6 February, which allegedly announced her death, even floated the possibility that her body could be returned if another ransom was paid.
Authorities have since had to wade through a swamp of bogus communications. Law enforcement has said that many supposed ransom notes in the Guthrie case turned out to be fake, sent by people seeking attention or trying to exploit a grieving family for quick crypto.
Only the earliest two emails are widely believed, by investigators and the family, to be authentic.
Police Keep Treating Nancy Guthrie As A Kidnapping Victim
None of the agencies involved has formally declared Nancy Guthrie dead. The Pima County Sheriff's Department, which is leading the investigation with assistance from the FBI, continues to classify the matter as a kidnapping.
'The Pima County Sheriff's Department continues to work closely with the FBI as investigators follow up on leads, review information, and pursue the facts surrounding this case,' a department spokesperson said in a recent statement.
Detectives are still combing through thousands of tips, including information that led search teams across the US‑Mexico border to examine a suspected grave site. That search came up empty, and no suspects have been publicly named.
The medical details released early in the case, including Guthrie's heart issues, high blood pressure and reliance on a pacemaker, only add to the urgency. Officers stressed at the outset that time was critical, particularly because her medication was left behind at home.
FBI officials have also examined a separate stream of emails received by TMZ from a person claiming to have information about the case but not to be the kidnapper.
One of those messages included the line 'time is no longer of the essence,' which some interpreted as another coded hint that Guthrie might already be dead. The FBI called that email 'interesting' but did not act on a proposal from the outlet to pay a bitcoin ransom to see where it led.
Savannah Guthrie's Plea: 'We Received Your Message And We Understand'
The most haunting element in the latest Nancy Guthrie ransom note revelations is how they recast the Guthrie family's own words earlier in the year.
On 7 February Savannah appeared in a video with her brother Camron and sister Annie to address the kidnappers directly following the arrival of the notes. Looking strained but composed, the Today presenter said: 'We received your message, and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate....'
Former FBI agent and commentator Jennifer Coffindaffer later highlighted another remark from Savannah, recalling that the host had said she believed God had told her Nancy was with him.
Nancy Guthrie @Newsnation reports a Source has indicated that Nancy is dead and buried according to what was written in one of the ransom notes.
— Jennifer Coffindaffer (@CoffindafferFBI) June 22, 2026
In addition, there was some sort of apology noted in the ransom note which has been rumored since the beginning but now a source… pic.twitter.com/NnntQ7UFid
Savannah has acknowledged publicly that she does not trust every message her family has received. In a March interview, she said she believed many later ransom emails were fake but regarded the first two as real.
She has also conceded that her family knows Nancy 'may be lost, she may already be gone.'
At the same time, the family has thrown serious money at keeping hope alive. They have offered a $1 million reward for information leading to Nancy Guthrie's return, on top of a $100,000 reward pledged by the FBI.
Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Today show anchor Savannah Guthrie, was reported missing on 1 February from her house in the affluent Catalina Foothills area near Tucson, Arizona.
Investigators with the Pima County Sheriff's Department believe she was taken during the night, and her disappearance quickly escalated into a high‑profile kidnapping probe after emails demanding a bitcoin ransom were sent to media outlets and, indirectly, to her family.
