Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Today show anchor Savannah Guthrie, has been missing since February 1.
Throughout the investigation into her disappearance, several ransom notes have been received demanding payment for her return. But according to crime scene investigator Sheryl McCollum, the latest notes don’t add up.
Speaking on NewsNation’s Jesse Weber Live, McCollum explained why she believes the messages “sound like a con.”
Red flags
Not long after Nancy went missing, several letters claimed she had been abducted and that paying a ransom could bring her home safely.
One reportedly asked for millions of dollars in cryptocurrency and included details about her home. A separate message later alleged she had died.
McCollum noted a few things that stood out to her right away in one letter, including the strange wording. “It starts with a greeting: ‘Hello, Savannah,’” McCollum said. “That’s not a demand. That’s not urgency.”
Details don’t add up
McCollum said the note goes out of its way to explain things a real kidnapper probably wouldn’t bother with, like telling the family that Nancy is safe but scared.
“You go on to explain more things that are obvious,” she added. “But if this was a demand for money, that doesn’t even play into what you’re doing.”
McCollum said what stands out the most is the lack of physical evidence mentioned in the note. She also wants whoever wrote the ransom to explain how blood ended up on Nancy’s front porch.
“If everything you did was in the back, how did her blood get on the front porch?” she said. “Explain that.”
‘Sounds like a con’
McCollum said something about the ransom’s timing and details felt off.
The note wasn’t sent until 48 hours after Nancy disappeared. It also included two separate deadlines, two different ransom amounts and a request that the money be paid only in U.S. dollars.
She emphasized none of that matches how a ransom demand typically works. “This gives you two different deadlines to give money, gives you two different amounts. That’s not a ransom note,” McCollum said.
“This sounds like a con to me. Even asking for U.S. currency. Who talks that way?” she added.
Ongoing investigation
McCollum said the second note, which seemingly apologized for Nancy’s alleged death, was just as hard to believe.
The note claimed she died and was “buried in nature.”
“Everybody’s buried in nature. If you’re buried, you’re in nature,” McCollum pointed out. “It just does not ring true to me.”
McCollum said the FBI is still trying to figure out who’s behind the notes and that they’re looking into the same red flags she is. She added that if the notes are real, making them public could end up hurting the investigation and the family.
“They need to hold this close to the vest,” she said. “We don’t need to be speculating on what this means or what that means. They need to be going to work every day on this thing.”
