Arizona authorities have ruled a newly surfaced ransom message in the Nancy Guthrie disappearance is not credible.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department announced the determination Tuesday on X, one day after revealing investigators had received what they initially described as a “new, possible ransom note.” The reversal came after further review of the text message, the department posted.
Nancy Guthrie, 84, vanished in February from her secluded desert home in the Tucson suburbs. She is the mother of Savannah Guthrie, 52, the longtime co-anchor of NBC’s “Today” show. The case has stretched into its eighth month without resolution, drawing sustained national attention.
The phony note is not the first false lead to complicate the investigation. Multiple red herrings have been sent to law enforcement and news stations in the months since the Guthrie matriarch disappeared, according to authorities. Each has demanded resources and attention before being dismissed.
The sheriff’s department has not disclosed the specific contents of the latest message, the identity of its sender, or what technical or investigative steps led to its dismissal. The Tuesday X post offered only the brief confirmation of its lack of credibility.
Savannah Guthrie has issued public pleas for information multiple times since her mother’s disappearance. In July, five months into the case, she posted a devastating appeal on social media seeking any leads that might bring her mother home. The “Today” host has largely continued her broadcasting duties while the investigation has unfolded.
The February disappearance triggered an extensive search of the rural property and surrounding desert terrain. Investigators have examined multiple angles, including a power and internet outage on the night Nancy Guthrie was taken. Human remains were discovered near her home at one point, though authorities did not link them to her case.
The ransom note pattern has emerged as a recurring feature of high-profile missing persons cases, where individuals seeking attention or attempting to exploit families introduce false information. Law enforcement agencies typically treat such communications as potential evidence while working quickly to verify or dismiss them.
Authorities have not indicated whether criminal charges could follow against the sender of the discredited text message. The investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s actual whereabouts remains active.