Ransom note about Nancy Guthrie's disappearance says she died, according to reports

A ransom note related to the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie – the mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie – said the 84-year-old had died, CNN and other news organizations are reporting, citing law enforcement sources.

Some media outlets had previously reported receiving ransom notes tied to the case in the days after Guthrie’s disappearance in early February from her home in the foothills just outside Tucson, Arizona.

CNN reported on Monday that one of notes revealed that Nancy Guthrie was dead – and those who kidnapped her did not mean to kill her, but she died shortly after her disappearance.

CNN said it knew the contents of one such note. A Tucson TV station had also reportedly received two notes.

The outlets agreed to hold off on sharing the contents of the notes publicly so any future communications with the kidnapper or kidnappers could be authenticated, CNN reported.

Savannah Guthrie on Tuesday appeared on Today and – as she has done before – pleaded for anyone with information about her mother to come forward.

“We are begging for your help,” Guthrie said, alluding to the combined $1.1m reward being offered by her family and authorities for information leading to Nancy’s recovery and the conviction of suspects in the case. “Please do the right thing – for us, for our family, for our children.”

With tears rolling down her cheeks, Guthrie added that she and her family are living in “agony” and “cannot be at peace” as long as her mother’s fate is unknown.

“We love our mom,” Guthrie also said. “And we will never stop looking for her.”

The Pima county sheriff’s department declined to comment on the note’s contents. The FBI didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Jessica Bobula, news director of the Tucson TV station KOLD, said on Monday that her station received several notes after Guthrie disappeared. The station notified authorities and has shared only what the FBI has released about the notes, she said.

Authorities believe Nancy Guthrie was kidnapped, abducted or otherwise taken against her will after finding blood near her front doorstep. The FBI later released surveillance videos showing a masked man on the porch that night.

Volunteers and search teams scoured the nearby desert terrain filled with cactuses, bushes and boulders in the weeks after she vanished. A volunteer group recently conducted a search for her body near the Arizona-Mexico border but didn’t report finding her.

Guardian staff contributed reporting