Nancy Guthrie missing case update: Investigators believe ransom note saying she died came from abductors

According to a ransom note sent to media outlets in connection with the disappearance of NBC "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie's mother, Nancy Guthrie, reportedly said she had died, according to investigators who are familiar with the case.

Citing law enforcement sources, CNN on Monday (local time) reported that the ransom note claiming that she had died came after a first note that demanded a ransom of millions of dollars. According to the investigators, these notes were legitimate communications from the kidnappers. The second note stated that Guthrie was dead and the kidnappers did not mean to kill her and added that she died shortly after being kidnapped.

Guthrie family believed two ransom notes were real

The Guthrie family responded with an emotional video when Savannah said, "We got your message, and we understand.” Earlier in March, Savannah Guthrie, in an interview with NBC, said their family believes the two notes are authentic and added, "There are a lot of different notes, I think, that came, and I think most of them — it's my understanding — are not real, and I didn't see them." She further said, “But I believe the two notes that we received, that we responded to, I tend to believe those are real.”

The first note, sent on 2 February, a day after the 84-year-old was reported missing from her home in Tucson, Arizona, was sent to at least three media outlets, including two local news stations and TMZ through their online tip lines. It gave highly specific details regarding Nancy Guthrie's home, including that an Apple watch with a white band was on the floor of her bedroom and that the light on her back porch was broken.

The second note, which was sent on 6 February, was in a similar language and style but did not make any demands, according to CBS News.

Media outlets refrained from reporting on ransom notes

According to reports, the contents of the second note were known to CNN and to the local news department of a Tucson, Arizona, television station that received both notes.

Both CNN and the Tucson-based television station agreed to the request made by enforcement officials. They did not report on the contents of both notes so any further communications with the kidnapper or kidnappers could be authenticated.

TMZ founder on reports claiming he received a ransom note

Questions regarding Nancy Guthrie's death and the ransom note started resurfacing after TMZ founder Harvey Levin posted a video addressing reports about a letter related to the 84-year-old. He noted that claims that he received a ransom note apologizing to Savannah Guthrie and her family for their mother's kidnapping and death were false.

According to Levin, the ransom note claimed that Guthrie was “scared but OK” but did not mention her death or any apology to the Guthrie family.

TMZ founder also claimed that the media outlet received several emails from a person claiming to know the alleged kidnappers and Nancy Guthrie's whereabouts, and sought roughly $100,000 in exchange for information. Levin said, "There’s something about those emails that made me believe that this guy may well have known who the kidnappers were."

However, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) never paid the individual who sent the emails, Levin said, despite TMZ offering to foot the bill.

According to the Pima County Sheriff's Department, which has been heading the investigation in this case since her disappearance roughly five months ago, told CNN on Monday (local time) that the investigation continues to be "active and ongoing."