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Pima County Releases Early Nancy Guthrie Ransom Notes As Sheriff's Prior No-Note Claim Scrutinized
The Pima County Sheriff's Department released two ransom notes in the Nancy Guthrie case on Friday, July 31, 2026, asking the public to help identify the writer.[1]
Investigators said the notes, dated February 2 and February 6, 2026, share a "unique linguistic style" and are believed to be from the same person.[2] The first, sent to KOLD-TV's tip line, demanded $4 million in bitcoin and referenced a white smartwatch on the bedroom floor and a destroyed backyard floodlight.[1] The second said Guthrie "perished shortly after she was taken," suggested a heart-related cause and added "She is buried in nature now." CBS News Authorities have not confirmed whether the notes are authentic, and Savannah Guthrie urged anyone who recognizes the writing to come forward.[3]
The notes were first sent to Tucson CBS affiliate KOLD-TV's tip line in early February using apparently fabricated email addresses, and investigators say both originated from the same masked IP address.[3] Pima County officials said they released the notes because the language and phraseology might be recognizable to someone who knows the writer, and they likened the tactic to past cases where writing helped identify suspects.[4] Officials said doorbell-camera footage recovered near Guthrie's home may show an unidentified man preparing ahead of the abduction.[4] Separately, two men detained and later released filed a combined $3 million notice of claim over their February 10 detentions.[4]
Sheriff Chris Nanos told CBS News on Thursday, July 30, "I don't have a body. I don't have a burial site. I don't have any note." CBS News One day later, his office released a ransom note that stated Guthrie had died, creating an on-the-record contradiction.[3] Retired FBI agents said releasing the notes months after the disappearance can be helpful but makes the media strategy seem "a little haphazard." CBS News
Pima County and the FBI asked anyone with information to call 1-800-CALL-FBI or to contact 520-88-CRIME anonymously.[5]
Show source details & analysis (9 sources)
📌 Key Facts
- On Friday, July 31, 2026, the Pima County Sheriff's Department publicly released two ransom notes in the Nancy Guthrie case to see if anyone recognizes the author.
- Investigators say the two ransom notes, sent February 2 and February 6, 2026, share a 'unique linguistic style' and are believed to have been written by the same person.
- The first note (sent February 2, 2026 to KOLD‑TV’s tip line and addressed to Savannah Guthrie) demanded $4 million in bitcoin by 5 p.m. on February 5 (threatening to raise the demand to $6 million and to kill Nancy Guthrie if unpaid by 5 p.m. on February 9) and referenced crime‑scene details such as a white smartwatch on the floor and a destroyed backyard floodlight.
- The second note, sent February 6, 2026, told the family Nancy 'perished shortly after she was taken,' suggested a heart‑related cause, asserted 'She is buried in nature now' and ended 'We are truly sorry,' while not repeating a ransom demand.
- Authorities have not confirmed the notes' authenticity but have not ruled them out; Savannah Guthrie urged people who recognize the writing to come forward (she posted on Saturday, August 1, 2026), and Pima County and the FBI asked tipsters to call 1‑800‑CALL‑FBI or anonymously contact 520‑88‑CRIME.
- Investigators framed the release as a way to generate fresh leads, saying the notes show distinctive language and details that might be recognizable to someone familiar with the author, and explicitly cited precedents for using writing style to identify suspects.
- Sheriff Chris Nanos told CBS on Thursday, July 30, 2026, 'I don't have a body. I don't have a burial site. I don't have any note,' but on Friday, July 31, 2026 his office released a ransom note that explicitly stated Guthrie had died, creating an on‑the‑record contradiction.
- Investigators say the ransom emails to KOLD‑TV came from apparently fabricated addresses and from the same masked IP address; they released the notes months after the disappearance to solicit public help—timing that retired FBI agents called useful but 'a little haphazard.'
- Pima County officials said two videos recovered from Nancy Guthrie's doorbell camera may be from different days and show an unidentified male who may have prepared ahead of the abduction, and two men previously detained and released in the investigation filed a combined $3 million notice of claim over their February 10 detentions.
📰 Source Timeline (9)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
August 04, 2026
12:48 AM
Sheriff in Nancy Guthrie case contradicted himself on ransom note
New information:
- CBS’s segment, aired Monday, August 3, 2026, highlights that Sheriff Chris Nanos told CBS News on Thursday, July 30, 2026, that he did not have a ransom note saying Nancy Guthrie was dead.
- The piece notes that on Friday, July 31, 2026, one day after that interview, Nanos released to the public a ransom note that explicitly stated Guthrie had died.
- The CBS video package centers this one-day gap as a direct, on-the-record contradiction in the sheriff’s public descriptions of the evidence.
August 03, 2026
5:12 PM
Sheriff in Nancy Guthrie case contradicted himself on ransom note
New information:
- In a CBS News interview on Thursday, July 30, 2026, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said, 'I don't have a body. I don't have a burial site. I don't have any note,' despite having already received at least one ransom note in February.
- The ransom notes were first sent via a tip line to Tucson CBS affiliate KOLD-TV in February 2026, shortly after Nancy Guthrie’s February 1 abduction, using apparently fabricated email addresses.
- CBS reports investigators believe both notes were sent from the same masked IP address, though they have not identified whose computer was used.
- Retired FBI supervisory special agent Lance Leising told CBS that releasing the notes months later is helpful but makes the media strategy appear 'a little haphazard,' and suggested investigators may still doubt the notes' authenticity.
- Retired FBI supervisory special agent Jason Pack told CBS that the disappearance of any ransom demand in the second note is inconsistent with typical money-motivated kidnappers and that he believes one person wrote both notes.
- Sheriff Nanos told CBS that investigators treat 'every one' of the hostage notes as valid until proven otherwise.
- On Saturday, August 1, 2026, Savannah Guthrie posted on Instagram marking six months since her mother’s disappearance, urging anyone who recognizes the ransom-note writing to come forward and saying 'There is a way to end this situation and do the right thing.'
- Following a critical Wall Street Journal account of the investigation over the weekend before August 3, Nanos released a social-media video defending his team’s work and saying they are 'fired up' and he has 'no doubt' the case will be solved.
1:47 PM
2 ransom notes released in Nancy Guthrie case, including one saying she died
New information:
- On Monday, August 3, 2026, CBS News reported that the Pima County sheriff publicly released two ransom notes in the Nancy Guthrie case, including one that states Guthrie died 'shortly after she was taken.'
- The CBS piece emphasizes that the second note’s claim about Guthrie having died is now part of the publicly available record six months after her disappearance.
- The report reiterates that the sheriff is releasing the notes at this stage of the investigation to solicit public assistance and attention to the case.
August 01, 2026
3:57 PM
Police release Nancy Guthrie ransom notes in hopes of public help
New information:
- CBS reports on August 1, 2026, that investigators have released two ransom notes in the Nancy Guthrie case and are asking the public to help identify the writer.
- The CBS segment emphasizes that it has been six months since Nancy Guthrie vanished from her Arizona home, underscoring the continuing nature of the investigation.
- Police highlight that the two ransom notes have 'distinctive linguistic characteristics' as a key reason for releasing them to the public.
July 31, 2026
9:53 PM
Authorities release early Nancy Guthrie ransom note, hoping someone recognizes writing style
New information:
- On July 31, 2026, Pima County officials said two videos recovered from Nancy Guthrie's doorbell camera may be from two different days and indicate an unidentified male prepared ahead of her abduction.
- Investigators appealed for tips about anyone who behaved differently, changed appearance, suddenly left the Tucson area, or showed a noticeable change of interest in the case after Guthrie's February 1, 2026 disappearance.
- The article reproduces key ransom-note language, including the first note's statement that Guthrie was "safe but scared" and would be released within 12 hours of a $4 million cryptocurrency payment, with escalating demands and a death threat if unpaid.
- The second ransom note, sent February 6, 2026, states that Guthrie died shortly after she was taken, says "She is buried in nature now" and ends with "We are truly sorry," though authorities have not confirmed whether she is alive.
- On or about July 30, 2026, two men previously detained and released in the investigation, Carlos Alfredo Palazuelos and Daniel Maddow, filed a notice of claim seeking a combined $3 million from the Pima County Sheriff's Department over their February 10, 2026 detentions.
- The sheriff's department publicly framed the ransom notes as having "distinctive linguistic characteristics" and explicitly cited the Ted Kaczynski/Unabomber case as a precedent for using writing style to identify a suspect.
8:19 PM
Nancy Guthrie Ransom Notes Released by Sheriff’s Department Searching for New Leads
New information:
- Article published Friday, July 31, 2026, at 3:19 p.m. Central provides New York Times corroboration that the Pima County Sheriff's Department released the full ransom notes in the Nancy Guthrie case and is seeking new leads.
- The Times article frames the release explicitly as an effort to generate fresh investigative leads in the months-old disappearance and likely killing of Nancy Guthrie.
- The coverage emphasizes that investigators view distinctive language and details in the notes as potentially recognizable to someone familiar with the author, reinforcing prior law-enforcement appeals.
7:50 PM
Nancy Guthrie ransom notes released by sheriff's department
New information:
- On Friday, July 31, 2026, the Pima County Sheriff's Department released the full text of two notes that appear to have been sent by Nancy Guthrie's alleged kidnapper to CBS affiliate KOLD-TV shortly after her disappearance.
- The first note, sent February 2, 2026 and addressed to Savannah Guthrie via the KOLD-TV tip line, demanded $4 million in bitcoin by 5 p.m. Thursday, February 5, with a threat to raise the ransom to $6 million if unpaid and to kill Nancy Guthrie if no payment was made by 5 p.m. Monday, February 9.
- The first note referenced specific crime-scene details, stating that a white smartwatch was on the floor at the foot of Nancy Guthrie's bed and that a white backyard floodlight had been destroyed.
- The second note, sent February 6, 2026 and addressed to the Guthrie family, claimed Nancy Guthrie "perished shortly after she was taken," said the writers "never intended to hurt her," suggested a heart-related cause, and asserted that "she is buried in nature now."
- The sheriff's department said it released the notes because they show "distinctive patterns of word choice, syntax, and phraseology" that may be recognizable to the public and explicitly asked anyone who recognizes the writing style to contact investigators.
7:28 PM
Nancy Guthrie ransom demands released by Pima County Sheriff's Department in bid to identify sender
New information:
- On Friday, July 31, 2026, the Pima County Sheriff's Department publicly released two ransom notes in the Nancy Guthrie case in hopes someone can recognize the author.
- Investigators say the notes, sent February 2 and February 6, 2026, share a 'unique linguistic style' and are believed to have been written by the same person.
- Authorities have not yet confirmed the notes' authenticity, but they have not ruled them out; Nancy Guthrie's daughter, 'Today' co-host Savannah Guthrie, has said she believes the notes may be genuine.
- Pima County officials and the FBI asked anyone with information to call 1-800-CALL-FBI or anonymously contact 520-88-CRIME.
July 30, 2026