Authorities in Arizona have reported a “new piece of correspondence” in the case of the missing Nancy Guthrie, 84, the mother of television star Savannah Guthrie.
But they don’t know yet whether it’s real.
“In a statement posted to social media, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department confirmed officials are investigating a new piece of correspondence regarding the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie,” reports confirmed.
“The FBI and Pima County Sheriff’s Department are aware of a new message regarding Nancy Guthrie.”
And they are trying to determine whether it is real.
The hesitation is because only a day earlier, police confirmed they had arrested a man for trying to scam Bitcoin from the Guthrie family after messages were sent that were unrelated to the disappearance of the elderly Guthrie.
There have been ransom notes delivered to several news outlets, and authorities are investigating but have not said whether they are genuine.
One that is not involves a Los Angeles man, Derrick Callella, who was arrested by the FBI “for allegedly sending texts to the Guthrie family to ask for Bitcoin and see if they would respond.”
Authorities have named him in a criminal complaint after he allegedly tried to use a VOIP app.
WND has reported some of the notes had imposed deadlines that already have passed.
Allegedly being demanded is millions of dollars in Bitcoin.
A report at the Daily Mail said Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos confirmed that investigators found a doorbell camera at Nancy Guthrie’s Arizona home had been disconnected in the dead of night around the time she disappeared in the early hours of Sunday.
She last was seen Saturday evening, and her home was found empty and she was missing when family members arrived following her non-appearance at a Sunday church service where she was expected.
Nanos said the doorbell camera was disconnected at 1:47 a.m. but 27 minutes later, a person “was detected” by camera sensors.
The woman’s pacemaker app disconnected from her home’s system a few minutes later.
No suspects have been identified, nor has anyone been ruled out, Nanos said.
The ransom notes, if genuine, still have provided no way for the family to contact the alleged kidnappers.
Authorities do not, in fact, know for sure she’s alive yet. Nanos told reporters, “We believe Nancy is still out there… We want her home. Our department, the sheriff’s department, along with our partners at the FBI have been working around the clock. We just want her home and to get to the bottom of this, like you do.”
The Daily Mail noted there had been found a trail of blood from her front door to the driveway, and a DNA analysis confirmed the blood belonged to Nancy Guthrie.
Nanos said no other forensic evidence has pointed toward a suspect.
Wednesday night, the “Today” show host posted a heart-wrenching video message to her mother:
At least two news outlets have been sent a “ransom note” but the authenticity remained in doubt.
One of the notes was sent to TMZ.
Investigative journalist Nick Sortor said, “A potential RANSOM NOTE for NBC’s Savannah Guthrie’s mother Nancy has been received by TMZ It is currently unverified, but the note mentions ‘specific damage’ done to the home as well as what clothes she was wearing, which could be used to verify the note’s legitimacy They’re demanding several million dollars in Bitcoin. TMZ has forwarded the note to the Pima County Sheriff, who has not yet made a statement yet. Again, this note is still UNVERIFIED. Keep praying for this Ms. Guthrie and her family.”
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