Nearly six months after Nancy Guthrie vanished from her Arizona home, authorities have released two ransom notes that offer a chilling—and still unresolved—account of what may have happened to her.

The first message demanded millions of dollars in Bitcoin and threatened to kill the 84-year-old mother of television journalist Savannah Guthrie if the money was not paid.

The second carried a drastically different message.

Its writer claimed Nancy had already died shortly after she was taken, possibly because of a heart-related medical emergency, and had been buried somewhere in nature.

Despite those claims, Nancy’s location remains unknown, no suspect has been publicly identified and investigators are continuing to search for the person responsible for her disappearance.

Two Messages Sent Days Apart

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department released the full text of the notes on Friday, July 31, shortly before the six-month anniversary of Nancy’s disappearance.

Both messages had previously been discussed publicly, but authorities had not released them in their entirety.

Investigators said the notes were sent to several news organizations, including Tucson television station KOLD-TV 13 News.

The first arrived on Feb. 2, one day after Nancy was believed to have been abducted from her home in Tucson.

It was addressed directly to Savannah.

The writer announced that Nancy was being held and described her as frightened but physically safe. The message said she would remain captive for no more than seven days and demanded Bitcoin worth $4 million by 5 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 5.

If the family failed to meet that deadline, the demand would rise to $6 million, with a second deadline set for 5 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 9.

The writer claimed that once the payment reached the specified Bitcoin address, Nancy would be released within 12 hours at a safe location in Tucson.

But the message also included an explicit threat.

If the final deadline passed without payment, the writer said Nancy would be killed. The note told Savannah that her mother understood the danger and placed responsibility for her survival on the family.

There would be no negotiation, the sender warned, and law enforcement would not be able to save her.

Details That Suggested Knowledge of the Home

One portion of the first note was redacted before its public release.

However, the message included two specific observations from Nancy’s property: a white smartwatch lying on the floor near the foot of her bed and a damaged white floodlight in the backyard.

Those details added another disturbing dimension to the message because they appeared to describe objects or damage inside and around the home.

Investigators believe Nancy was taken during the early hours of Feb. 1.

Surveillance footage previously released by the FBI’s Phoenix Field Office showed a masked man carrying a weapon on Nancy’s front porch in the middle of the night.

Blood discovered outside the residence was later matched to Nancy’s DNA.

Authorities have also been studying a mixed DNA sample recovered from the home in hopes that it could lead them to a suspect. Investigators have not ruled out the possibility that one person acted alone.

Second Note Claimed Nancy Was Already Dead

A second message was sent on Feb. 6, the day after the first payment deadline listed in the original ransom demand.

This note was shorter and addressed to the Guthrie family as a whole.

Its tone had changed completely.

Rather than demanding money or threatening future violence, the writer claimed Nancy had died unintentionally soon after the abduction.

The sender said those involved had not understood how serious her physical condition was and insisted that harming her had never been the plan.

According to the message, Nancy “perished shortly after she was taken.”

The writer suggested that her death may have been connected to her heart and claimed that she had been buried in a natural setting.

The note told the family that nothing they could have done would have changed the outcome. It ended with an expression of regret and a hope that Nancy’s loved ones might eventually find peace.

The message did not provide a precise burial location.

As a result, it offered Nancy’s family a devastating claim without providing the answer they have pleaded for since the day she disappeared: where to find her.

Authorities Hope Someone Recognizes the Writer

The sheriff’s department released the notes as part of a renewed effort to generate leads.

Investigators said someone who knows the writer—or has interacted with that person—may recognize the language, phrasing or patterns of expression used in the messages.

Authorities asked the public to consider whether someone they know began behaving differently around the time of Nancy’s disappearance.

Possible warning signs could include a sudden change in appearance or mood, unexplained injuries or an unusual level of interest—or deliberate lack of interest—in Nancy’s neighborhood and the investigation.

The department’s appeal reflects the central challenge facing detectives: the notes contain the words of someone claiming direct involvement, but the identity of that person remains hidden.

In May, when the search reached 100 days, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said he believed investigators were moving closer to resolving the case.

However, a piece of hair recovered from Nancy’s home did not lead authorities to a suspect, the sheriff’s department confirmed on July 31.

Savannah’s Emotional Plea

Days before the notes were released, Savannah, 54, issued another emotional appeal directed at those responsible for her mother’s disappearance.

In a video shared on Instagram on Monday, July 27, she acknowledged that the world could be cruel but urged anyone involved to make a different choice now.

She begged them to help the family find Nancy and tell investigators where to search.

Savannah said she believed it was never too late for someone to do the right thing, regardless of what had already happened.

Her final message was one of mercy rather than anger: there was still a way home, she said, if those responsible chose to end the family’s suffering.

The appeal captured the painful uncertainty surrounding the case.

The ransom note claimed Nancy had died, yet her family still had no physical confirmation and no place where they could bring her home from.

For months, they have remained trapped between grief and hope, unable to fully accept the worst but unable to dismiss the message sent in her name.

Millions Offered for Information

A substantial reward remains available for information that advances the investigation.

The FBI has offered $100,000 for information leading to Nancy’s recovery or an arrest.

Savannah and her family have separately offered a $1 million reward.

The size of those rewards reflects both the urgency of the search and the belief that someone beyond the person who wrote the notes may know what happened.

Perhaps someone noticed unusual behavior. Perhaps someone recognizes the language in the messages. Perhaps another person knows where Nancy was taken after she disappeared from her home.

Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900 or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

A Case Still Without Its Final Answer

The release of the ransom notes has given the public its clearest view yet of the messages that have haunted Nancy Guthrie’s family for months.

The first presented a desperate race against time: millions of dollars, two deadlines and a promise that Nancy could return safely.

The second suggested that the opportunity to save her may never have existed.

Yet neither note has brought investigators to Nancy.

No burial site has been found. No publicly named suspect has been arrested. The person seen on her porch has not been identified, and the writer who claimed responsibility remains unknown.

For Savannah and her family, the case is no longer only about solving a crime. It is about ending an unbearable absence.

The notes may claim that Nancy’s life ended shortly after she was taken, but until authorities find her and determine what happened, the family’s most basic question remains unanswered.

Where is Nancy Guthrie?