Nancy Guthrie Ransom Notes: What's True and What's Not as Chilling 'Death' Note Emerges

Not every ransom note sent in connection with Nancy Guthrie's disappearance has been regarded as authentic.

In the days after Savannah Guthrie's mother was reported missing, several ransom notes were allegedly sent to media outlets, including TMZ and local news station KOLD News 13. KOLD anchor Mary Coleman confirmed during a February 4 appearance on CNN's Erin Burnett Outfront that the news station received an alleged ransom note via email on February 2, sharing details about a damaged floodlight and the location of an Apple Watch left inside Nancy's home.

"There are a few things that we can share as far as what the contents were," she said of the "concerning" communication.

Mary added, "A lot of it is information that only someone who is holding her for ransom would know — some very sensitive information and things that people who were there when she was taken captive would know."

Meanwhile, the FBI said the ransom note, which allegedly asked for $4 million in Bitcoin, set a deadline of 5 p.m. on February 5.

"If a transfer wasn't made, the second demand was for next Monday. I'm not going to go beyond that," said FBI Phoenix Special Agent in Charge Heith Janke.

Amid the probe, Savannah appeared in a video along with her siblings, Camron and Annie, to plead for their mother's safe return.

"We, too, have heard the reports about a ransom letter in the media," Savannah said in the February 4 clip. "As a family, we are doing everything that we can. We are ready to talk."

They uploaded a follow-up video on February 7, in which they told Nancy's potential abductor they "received [the] message" and they "understand."

"We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her," the broadcaster continued. "This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay."

As a series of ransom notes came to light, an individual named Derrick Callella was arrested on the morning of February 5. According to the criminal complaint, he allegedly sent a text message to Annie and her husband, Tommaso Cioni, which read, "Did you get the bitcoin were [sic] waiting on our end for the transaction."

"After Miranda warnings, CALLELLA admitted to sending the two text messages. He admitted to using the VOIP account from which two actual text messages came from," the document stated.

The complaint added, "CALLELLA stated that he pulled family information from a cyber website, and that he had been following along and watching TV. When he said that he sent text messages he was trying to see if the family would respond. Data received shows that approximately three minutes after the text messages, CALLELLA called a family member of the N.G. which lasted 9 seconds."

In a March interview with NBC, the Today co-anchor said her family had received several ransom notes, though they believed only the first two messages were authentic.

"There are a lot of different notes, I think, that came, and I think most of them — it's my understanding — are not real, and I didn't see them," she told Hoda Kotb. "But, you know, a person that would send a fake ransom note really has to look deeply at themselves, to a family in pain. But I believe the two notes that we received, that we responded to, I tend to believe those are real."

Nearly five months since Nancy went missing, an update shared on Ashleigh Banfield's "Drop Dead" podcast alleged the matriarch was buried in a rural area near Nogales, Mexico. A grassroots group called Buscando Corazones Nogales, which is pursuing multiple leads in the case, have had "huge successes in the past to the tune of finding 25 different unmarked graves in just one area," per the podcast host.

"They got a tip and it was specific," said Ashleigh. "They have not released everything, but they said there were enough specifics in the tip to suggest that Nancy Guthrie is buried in an area southwest of Nogales in an area called Mariposa, butterfly in English."

The former Banfield host added the group "got a lot of help from the government" as they began searching. The Sonora State Commission for the Search of Missing Persons and local officials also reportedly "backed them up with security."

Buscando Corazones Nogales leader Ramona Guadalupe Ayala Ortiz previously claimed the group received an anonymous phone call regarding the whereabouts of Nancy's remains. They conducted the first search on May 16 but found nothing. They searched again on June 10 after receiving another anonymous message that pointed to a different location.

A third search was carried out on June 16.

Meanwhile, the Pima County Sheriff's Office confirmed they were aware of reports regarding the anonymous tip, but they had "not been contacted by Mexican authorities" at the time.

"This investigation remains active and ongoing, and we will continue to follow up on any credible information," they added.

On June 23, NBC News revealed a second ransom note sent to media outlets claimed Nancy had died. Sources said the message did not include apology or request for payment, but it expressed regret over Nancy's alleged passing.

TMZ, however, said the ransom note contained no indication that Nancy was no longer alive.

The email, which was sent on February 6, was among dozens sent by an individual who claimed to know where Nancy was being held and who was responsible for her abduction. One message from the anonymous sender offered information in exchange for one Bitcoin, writing "time is of the essence."

A day later, the man — who insisted he was not involved in the kidnapping — wrote that "time is no longer of the essence," a remark that some interpreted as a possible reference to Nancy's death.

Amid renewed focus on the ransom notes tied to Nancy's disappearance, retired FBI agent Jason Pack said the communications "have a 'fingerprint in them.'"

"If the first two [ransom notes] read like the same person wrote them and everything that followed reads differently, that tells the task force something meaningful about who they're actually dealing with versus who decided to insert themselves into the story once it went international," he explained to Page Six.

He noted the first note included details about Nancy's clothing that had not been made public. With that, he suggested the sender was "likely there" or had direct knowledge of the crime.

Jason continued, "Based on what's been reported, the language and tone of those first two notes compared to everything that came after is where the real analytical work is happening right now."