Updated

Updated · CNN · Aug 1

Guthrie Family Renews $1.2 Million Reward as Police Release 2 Ransom Notes in Nancy Guthrie Case

Updated

Updated · CNN · Aug 1

Guthrie Family Renews $1.2 Million Reward as Police Release 2 Ransom Notes in Nancy Guthrie Case

Q: Why did the masked intruder who kidnapped 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie suddenly apologize for her unintended death in a later ransom note?

The later note suggested Nancy Guthrie died unintentionally because, according to its writer, the kidnappers did not realize how serious her medical condition was. The message said they “did not fully grasp the seriousness of her physical condition,” that they “never intended to hurt her,” and that she “perished shortly after she was taken,” apparently from a heart-related event. That explanation aligns with what investigators and the family had stressed from the start: Guthrie, 84, had a heart condition, used a pacemaker, and was without critical daily medication after being taken from her Tucson-area home. Reports on the second note say it shifted from a hard ransom demand to a remorseful tone, claiming her death was inadvertent and, in some accounts, saying she was “buried in nature now.” What is not known is whether that explanation is true. Authorities have not confirmed Nancy Guthrie is dead, have not identified the writer publicly, and have treated the notes as potentially credible partly because they included nonpublic crime-scene details, such as the location of her Apple Watch and a smashed floodlight. Investigators are also considering that the masked intruder seen on video may not have been the same person who wrote the notes. So the apology appears to have been an attempt by the writer to explain that her death was accidental, allegedly caused by an unforeseen medical crisis during or after the abduction, not a planned killing.

3 articles · Updated · CNN · Aug 1

Six months after Nancy Guthrie, 84, vanished from her Tucson-area home, her family renewed a public plea for tips and said a $1.2 million reward remains available.
Two newly released ransom notes are now central to the appeal, with investigators urging people to study the writer’s word choice and syntax for clues that could identify someone they know.
Authorities also asked the public to recall unusual behavior around Feb. 1 — including sudden travel, vehicle cleaning, injuries or shifts in routine — that might point to the abduction.
Forensic work is still continuing, but hair recovered inside Guthrie’s home has not identified a suspect, even as detectives pursue DNA and thousands of tips.
The case has drawn repeated social-media appeals from Guthrie’s children since Nancy disappeared without her phone or essential medication from her Arizona home.