Nearly six months after 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie was violently taken from her Tucson, Arizona home, questions continue to surround the authenticity of the ransom notes that surfaced in the high-profile case. A veteran criminal profiler has publicly expressed strong skepticism, arguing that the messages do not align with the cold and calculated nature of the crime itself.

On the early morning of February 1, 2026, a masked man was captured on a Nest doorbell camera entering Nancy Guthrie’s residence in the Catalina Foothills. The intruder, described as a male of average height and build, wore a ski mask, long sleeves, and black gloves while carrying a black Ozark Trail backpack commonly sold at Walmart. He appears to have pulled the elderly woman from her bed during a home invasion that left blood on the doorstep. Authorities recovered the video with ᴀssistance from Google and the FBI, and so far only a single suspect has been clearly visible on the footage. Investigators have not ruled out the possibility of additional people being involved, but no other individuals have been identified on camera.

In the days and weeks that followed, multiple alleged ransom notes and messages appeared. The first major note demanded millions of dollars in Bitcoin, set a payment ᴅᴇᴀᴅline, and reportedly contained crime-scene details that had not yet been widely released to the public. It offered no proof of life. A second note, or versions of it sent to different media outlets, took a different tone. It claimed that Nancy Guthrie had died unintentionally after the abduction and stated that she was “buried with nature.”

Criminal profiler John Kelly, president of STALK Inc. and a specialist who has interviewed numerous serial killers, told Fox News Digital that these notes strike him as inauthentic. “Bottom line is, I don’t believe they’re real,” Kelly said. He described the first note as purely transactional and focused only on money, while the second introduced emotional language such as the word “intentional.” According to Kelly, this shift in tone does not match the profile of the kind of offender who would storm into an elderly woman’s home at dawn, drag her from her bed, and leave a bloody scene. “Most of these guys are psycho,” he explained. “They’re going to just want to get away from the problem as quick as possible. They’re not going to be worried about leaving condolences.”

Kelly further argued that the abductor or abductors “objectified” Nancy Guthrie during the crime. The emotional phrasing in the later note, he said, feels inconsistent with someone capable of that level of cruelty and detachment. “This is a person to me that wouldn’t know a feeling if they tripped over one,” he added. Observing the suspect’s behavior on the limited video footage available, Kelly noted an absence of normal blinking or visible anxiety—traits he ᴀssociates with psychopathic individuals who remain unusually calm under pressure.

Authorities have never publicly confirmed or fully dismissed the notes’ authenticity. Early in the investigation they appeared to take at least some of the demands seriously. FBI Phoenix Special Agent in Charge Heith Janke even sat down with Nancy Guthrie’s adult children to record a video response to the first note. Savannah Guthrie, the “Today” show co-host and Nancy’s daughter, has stated that she believes the two notes received and responded to by the family were genuine, while acknowledging that many other messages that arrived were likely fake. In a March 2026 interview with colleague Hoda Kotb, Savannah said: “There are a lot of different notes… most of them are not real… But I believe the two notes that we received, that we responded to, I tend to believe those are real.”

Since then, several hoax notes have been exposed. At least one individual has pleaded guilty to federal charges for sending a phony ransom demand that harᴀssed family members. Despite these developments, the core investigation remains focused on the possibility of a genuine kidnapping for ransom or another motive that has not yet been made public.

As of late July 2026, the case has entered its sixth month with no major breakthroughs publicly announced. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department and federal investigators continue to describe the probe as active and ongoing. On July 27, Savannah Guthrie released a new emotional video plea on social media, directly addressing her mother’s captors. She urged them to “make the right choice,” “do the right thing,” and help the family locate Nancy. The appeal marked one of several public statements she has made since the abduction.

A combined reward exceeding $1.2 million remains available for information that leads to the resolution of the case. Tips can be submitted to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or anonymously through Tucson Crime Stoppers at 1-520-882-7463.

The disappearance of Nancy Guthrie continues to draw national attention, not only because of her daughter’s high public profile but also because of the many unanswered questions surrounding the notes, the suspect’s idenтιтy, and the ultimate fate of the 84-year-old woman.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/us/nancy-guthrie-ransom-notes-dont-match-suspects-behavior-profiler-says-dont-believe-theyre-real