Heartbroken Savannah Guthrie releases new video directed at mom Nancy’s ‘captors’ saying ‘we will pay’ ransom
In a new video message sent to the 84-year-old’s kidnappers on Saturday night, Savannah Guthrie said she agreed to pay a ransom in exchange for the return of her mother, Nancy.
The Today Show host shared a video of herself holding hands with her sister Annie and brother Camron, saying they had received communications from her mother’s kidnappers.
“We got your message and we understand,” said Savannah. ‘We now beg you to give us back our mother so we can celebrate with her.
‘This is the only way we can have peace. This is very valuable to us and we will pay for it.’
Savannah did not provide detailed information about the communications her family received or the requests she agreed to pay.
This comes after a series of ‘ransom notes’ were reportedly sent to TMZ and KOLD newsrooms last week since 84-year-old Nancy was kidnapped from her home in Tucson, Arizona, in the early hours of February 1.
Authorities have not confirmed the legitimacy of these notes, but Savannah’s latest video shows Nancy’s family being contacted directly by those who claim to be holding her for ransom.
TMZ said the ‘ransom letters’ demanded millions of Bitcoins in exchange for Nancy’s return and set a deadline of Monday for payment to be made ‘or else’.
Savannah Guthrie has released a new video message to the kidnappers of her missing mother, Nancy, informing them that her family ‘got your message.’
84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, mother of Today Show star Savannah Guthrie, disappeared from her home in Tucson, Arizona, seven days ago.
Savannah and her siblings previously shared a video of their mother demanding ‘proof of life’ following news of a ransom demand to TMZ and KOLD this week.
It’s unclear if any evidence of life has been found, but Savannah’s latest video appears to indicate that her family believes they were contacted by her legitimate kidnappers.
The release of the video comes as the search for Nancy intensified on Friday night, with forensic teams returning to her home for a third time to obtain new evidence, including a car from her garage and a camera from her roof.
Hours before the call, the Pima County Sheriff’s Office said it was aware of a third ransom note sent to KOLD claiming to have been sent by Nancy’s captors.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos announced in an interview with NBC News a short time later that he believed the 84-year-old man was “still alive.”
While Nanos offered an optimistic perspective on the research, he had previously acknowledged that researchers were in a race against time and that the 84-year-old had health problems and was believed to not take daily medication.
Investigators were seen scouring the roof of Nancy Guthrie’s home in Tucson, Arizona, on Friday evening and reportedly found a camera that had been overlooked in previous searches
Investigators were seen at Nancy Guthrie’s home Friday evening
A dark-colored SUV was towed from the property on Friday
In another development in the investigation Friday, authorities said a “vehicle of interest” had been spotted and is believed to have been spotted at a Circle K convenience store in the Tucson area.
A spokesperson for Circle K told the Daily Mail that a ‘tip’ led law enforcement to the vehicle and that the company was assisting investigators by providing access to surveillance video.
It is unclear why the vehicle was linked to the disappearance or if any suspects were identified as a result.
The evidence seized Friday marks the biggest breakthrough in the search since blood was found outside Nancy’s front door moments after she was reported missing.
Footage from the scene shows blood droplets stretching from the door to the driveway, and the doorbell camera was removed. Authorities later said the camera was disconnected at 1:47 a.m. the night she disappeared.
Six days into the search for Today Show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother, Nancy, investigators returned to her Arizona home to obtain new evidence in the hope that she was still alive.
Blood was seen on the walkway of Nancy’s home in Tucson, Arizona
Nancy’s Ring’s doorbell camera was also missing
The confusion over the legitimacy of the ‘ransom letters’ comes after California-based Derrick Callella was arrested on Thursday after he allegedly texted Nancy’s daughter Annie and son-in-law Tommaso Cioni about a fake ransom plan.
Callella allegedly admitted to sending the messages to take advantage of the turmoil around Nancy’s kidnapping and potential ransom demands, telling investigators she was ‘just trying to see if the family would respond.’
The messages Callella sent to the Guthrie family are believed to be separate from the messages sent to TMZ and KOLD this week; One of them reportedly set a deadline of 5pm on Thursday for the payment of millions of Bitcoins.
TMZ reported that a secondary, ‘more serious’ deadline was also set for Monday.
After the initial deadline passed, Camron Guthrie shared another video on social media pleading for his mother’s kidnappers to contact the family.
‘Whoever is holding our mother there, we want to hear from you,’ he said. ‘We haven’t heard anything directly. We need you to reach us and we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward.
‘But first we must know that our mother is with you. We want to talk to you and welcome you to get in touch.’
Authorities have previously said they had no reason to believe Nancy may have been targeted because of her daughter, but did not rule out any further investigation. Savannah Guthrie reportedly earned a salary of $8 million at NBC, and her net worth is estimated to be around $40 million
With no suspects or persons of interest publicly identified, President Donald Trump said Friday evening that the investigation was progressing promisingly.
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that the investigation was going “very well” and said he understood investigators “had some leads that I thought were very strong.”
Trump said ‘a lot has happened in the last few hours’ on the calls and quipped that ‘some answers will emerge fairly soon.’
Authorities have previously said they had no reason to suspect the kidnapping was linked to the fame of Nancy’s daughter, Savannah, but did not rule out any investigation.
