This image provided by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, shows a missing person alert for Nancy Guthrie. (Photo: AP/File Photo)
A second note sent to media outlets following the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie mother of US television anchor Savannah Guthrie stated that she had died, three people familiar with the matter told NBC News. The note contained no apology and made no request for payment or the return of her body.
The existence of the second note had previously been reported, but its contents specifically that it claimed Guthrie had died had not been disclosed until now.
What happened to Nancy Guthrie?
Nancy Guthrie, 84, was reported missing from her home near Tucson, Arizona, on 1 February this year, after she was last seen the previous evening around 9:45 p.m. The circumstances of her disappearance remain unexplained.
Ten days after she went missing, the FBI recovered doorbell camera footage showing an armed and masked man outside her home on the morning she disappeared.
The agency has since described that man as a suspect. He is described as being of average build, between 5 feet 9 inches and 5 feet 10 inches tall, and was seen carrying a black Ozark Trail brand backpack.
The two notes
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Investigators have examined two notes sent to media outlets since the disappearance and consider both potentially credible, NBC News has reported. The first note said Nancy Guthrie was safe and asked for cryptocurrency in exchange for her release.
The second note which NBC News has now confirmed stated she had died differed from the first in almost every way, according to the news director of Tucson television station KOLD, which received both notes.
Savannah Guthrie’s response
After the second note was sent, Savannah Guthrie co-anchor of the US morning programme Today — posted a video on Instagram alongside her brother Camron and sister Annie, addressing whoever was holding their mother. The family said they understood the message they had received and pleaded for their mother’s return.
“We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace,” Savannah Guthrie said, adding that the family would pay for her return.
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In a separate video posted on 15 February, she appealed directly to anyone with knowledge of her mother’s whereabouts, saying it was “never too late to do the right thing.”
The case remains open. The FBI has not named a suspect and the investigation is ongoing.
