TMZ Says Nancy Guthrie Ransom Note Set 2 Deadlines

TMZ founder Harvey Levin says the ransom note the outlet received after Nancy Guthrie disappeared came with not one but two deadlines attached. Speaking on CNN Thursday, Levin described the letter as a tightly written demand that laid out "precisely" what the writer wanted and what would happen if those demands weren't met. He said the note set a first deadline for 5pm Thursday related to the payment, and a second for Monday that "has more do with a consequence." TMZ has reported the letter demanded millions in bitcoin and included a working bitcoin address.

Levin said the note asserted that Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie, was alive, labeled the demands non-negotiable, and warned there would be no further communication. "The letter begins by saying she is safe, but scared, and they go on to say she knows exactly what the demand is," Levin told Fox News. He called it "carefully crafted" and suggested investigators have not yet "cracked" who sent it or where it originated, the Hill reports. The letter also referenced an Apple Watch and a floodlight at Guthrie's Tucson-area home—details the FBI's Phoenix office confirmed publicly and Levin argued could help verify the note's authenticity because they were not widely known.

The FBI says it is aware of ransom letters sent to multiple media outlets and is treating them as a serious lead. "Any action taken on any ransom is ultimately decided by the family," Heith Janke, the special agent in charge of the FBI Phoenix field office, said Thursday. At least one ransom demand was fake: Court documents show that California man Derrick Callella was arrested and charged after sending ransom texts to Guthrie's family Wednesday, reports the New York Post.

Police released a more detailed timeline of the apparent abduction on Thursday but said they still have no suspects or persons of interest. In a video Thursday, Camron Guthrie, Savannah Guthrie's brother, issued a plea to the kidnappers. "Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We haven't heard anything directly," he said. "We need you to reach out and we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward."