FBI investigating legitimacy of Nancy Guthrie ransom notes

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Who is down the ransom notes tied to Nancy Guthrie's kidnapping? That question continues to plague investigators moving the lawsuit successful Arizona, 5 months aft the 84-year-old grandma and parent of "Today" amusement co-host Savannah Guthrie was kidnapped successful the mediate of the night.

The notes autumn into 3 categories: the 2 notes sent wrong the archetypal week of her disappearance that investigators judge are apt legitimate, those that could beryllium morganatic but that don't person immoderate clues suggesting they are, and those that authorities accidental are wealth grabs from would-be extortionists.

"The FBI and its task unit partners person received respective ransom notes implicit the people of this investigation," an FBI authoritative said Wednesday successful a connection to CBS News. "Some person been deemed to beryllium extortion attempts without legitimacy. Other ransom demands whitethorn perchance beryllium morganatic and are inactive being investigated arsenic such."

The FBI authoritative said the bureau is assisting section authorities, namely the Pima County Sheriff's Department, which is the pb bureau connected the case. Law enforcement sources person told CBS News that the FBI has been handling the integer forensic enactment connected the ransom notes. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has directed each questions astir ransom notes to the FBI.

"This lawsuit continues to beryllium investigated arsenic a kidnapping for ransom case," the FBI authoritative said Wednesday.

Nancy Guthrie location 30 days aft disappearance

The archetypal note, sent connected Feb. 2, 1 time aft Nancy Guthrie was reported missing from her location successful Tucson, included details astir Guthrie's location that led investigators to instrumentality it seriously. One of the details described the placement of Guthrie's Apple Watch with a achromatic wrist set that was near connected the level adjacent to her bed. Another item noted that a floodlight connected the backmost structure was out. The enactment demanded an archetypal $4 cardinal successful bitcoin wrong a fewer days' time, and past upped the ante by $2 cardinal much successful bitcoin if the archetypal deadline was missed.

The ransom connection was sent via extremity lines to 2 section quality stations and TMZ. A Gmail code was entered arsenic the interaction email and addressed to Savannah Guthrie, aggregate sources acquainted with the enactment person told CBS News. The household worked with the FBI to trade a response, but determination was nary email back.

Then connected Feb. 6, 4 days aft the archetypal connection came in, different 1 came done the extremity lines. The FBI aboriginal determined it came from the aforesaid IP code arsenic the archetypal note, instrumentality enforcement sources told CBS News. This enactment indicated that Nancy Guthrie had died.

Savannah Guthrie and her siblings responded with a video message astatine the time, saying: "We received your connection and we understand... This is precise invaluable to america and we volition pay." But they ne'er heard from the imaginable kidnappers again.

"There are a batch of antithetic notes, I think, that came," Savannah Guthrie told Hoda Kotb successful an interrogation successful March. "And I deliberation astir of them, it's my understanding, are not real. … But I judge the 2 notes that we received that we responded to, I thin to judge those are real."

TMZ's Harvey Levin connected messages passed connected to FBI

As the days went on, TMZ continued to person tips that the outlet passed connected to the FBI. One enactment caught the oculus of TMZ laminitis Harvey Levin. It demanded 1 bitcoin, oregon astir $60,000, for accusation astir the kidnappers.

"A period ago, I called the FBI and I said, 'Look, I conscionable person this consciousness this feline mightiness beryllium real,'" Levin told CBS News successful an interrogation past week.

The messages continued to travel in, and Levin said helium shared them each with the FBI, astir a twelve messages successful total. At 1 point, Levin said, the FBI indicated they believed the sender mightiness beryllium female.

Levin said helium told the FBI, "'What if we bash a documentary, and we enactment that wealth successful the bitcoin code and travel the way and wherever it goes? And we'd evidently not bash thing without you, but conscionable due to the fact that we person this consciousness it's real, what if we bash this?'"

"I had made six calls and I felt they were ghosting us," Levin said. But the FBI yet got backmost to him, Levin said, asking that helium not travel done connected the documentary thought due to the fact that they felt they were adjacent to identifying the sender.

In the astir caller connection Levin received from the idiosyncratic past week, Levin said the sender wrote that a video of Nancy Guthrie was connected a cellphone successful a unafraid place, and the sender again demanded 1 bitcoin successful speech for information.

There is nary denotation the messages sent to TMZ are legitimate, and it is unclear however adjacent the FBI is to identifying the sender. The FBI did not instantly respond to CBS News' petition for remark connected Levin's statements.

In an aboriginal lawsuit of what authorities judge to person been an extortion attempt, national prosecutors charged a California antheral with sending a fake ransom enactment via substance connection to Savannah Guthrie's family. Derrick Callella allegedly texted them, "Did you get the bitcoin were [sic] waiting connected our extremity for the transaction," according to the charging documents. Callella has pleaded not guilty.

Callella's adjacent proceeding is scheduled for July 2 astatine the national courthouse successful Tucson.

The Guthrie household is offering a $1 cardinal reward for immoderate accusation that leads to the whereabouts of Nancy Guthrie. The FBI is besides offering a $100,000 reward and encouraging anyone with accusation to telephone 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).

Pat Milton contributed to this report.

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