Savannah Guthrie has revealed that the first two ransom notes the family received may have been sent from the real kidnappers.
“I believe the two notes that we received that we responded to, I tend to believe those are real,” Guthrie said in her first TV appearance since her mother Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance on January 31.
In a 30-minute interview with the Today show, Guthrie, 54, spoke candidly about her days since the kidnapping with her long-time friend and former co-host Hoda Kotb.
In the interview, Guthrie was referring to one of the first ransom notes sent on February 3 to TMZ, in which the sender identified a piece of clothing Nancy, 84, was wearing and an item damaged in the home during the abduction. They asked for millions of dollars in Bitcoin to be sent to a cryptocurrency wallet.
Guthrie believes the other ransom notes that came after were likely from copycats. Officials haven’t confirmed the authenticity of any of the ransom notes, nor have they identified a suspect in the case.
Guthrie says she feels that her mother was targeted because of her fame.
“I don’t know that it’s because she’s my mom and somebody thought, ‘Oh, that girl—that lady has money. We can… make a quick buck.’ I mean, that would make sense,” she said. “But we don’t know. Which is too much to bear, to think that I brought this to her bedside. That it’s because of me.”
The search for Nancy has stretched into its second month, as hope for her family wears thin.
Earlier this week, the Guthrie family urged Tucson residents to recall any suspicious activity they noticed in the area.
“We hope people search their memories, especially around the key timelines of January 31 and the early morning hours of February 1, as well as the late evening of January 11,” they said in a statement to the local NBC affiliate.
Jan. 11 has become a crucial date for investigators after a neighbor, Aldine Meister, saw a suspicious man near Guthrie’s home. FBI has also requested that all of Guthrie’s neighbors hand over doorbell camera footage from Jan. 11. It’s unclear if investigator’s focus on the date is related to Meister’s account.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said earlier this month that investigations are “definitely closer” to breaking the case and have “a lot of intel to work with.”
The family is offering a $1 million reward for her return, while the FBI offers $50,000 to anyone who has information that could lead to the missing 84-year-old.
