Coverage dated June 30, 2026 to July 3, 2026

Man pleads guilty to sending Guthrie family phony ransom demands

Headline from UPI, on the newest of 2 developments

A California man has pleaded guilty to sending phony ransom requests to the family of Nancy Guthrie, mother of "Today" host Savannah Guthrie.

UPI's own description from its feed. We collect headlines and these descriptions, not full articles; read the original reporting below.

Earlier updates in this story

Developments in this update

2 dated developments, oldest first, newest marked. Each is named by one outlet's own headline; open its reports to see every outlet that covered it.

  1. FBI says some Nancy Guthrie ransom notes 'may potentially be legitimate'

    Headline from KSN Wichita ·

  2. Newest

    Man pleads guilty to sending Guthrie family phony ransom demands

    Headline from UPI ·

Read the reports

Reports & sources

182 articles, oldest first.

  1. Union Leader

    FBI determines Nancy Guthrie kidnapping notes to be fakes, source says (opens Union Leader)

    Published

    Union Leader's feed description

    All three kidnapping-related messages that have surfaced in news media reports about the disappearance of "Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie's elderly mother have been deemed by federal investigators to be fake communications, an FBI official told Reuters on Tuesday.

  2. BNO News

    FBI believes ransom notes in Nancy Guthrie case are fake – Reuters (opens BNO News)

    Published

    BNO News's feed description

    Federal investigators believe three kidnapping-related messages sent after the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie’s mother were fake and not connected to the case, according to Reuters. Nancy Guthrie, 84, disappeared from her home in the Tucson, Arizona, area in early February.

  3. News Nation Now

    FBI says three Nancy Guthrie kidnapping notes are fake: Reuters (opens News Nation Now)

    Published

    News Nation Now's feed description

    Two ransom notes were sent to media outlets in early February, and a third was emailed to TMZ last week.

  4. Fox10 Phoenix

    Nancy Guthrie: FBI determines ransom notes are fake, report says (opens Fox10 Phoenix)

    Published

    Fox10 Phoenix's feed description

    The FBI believes three ransom notes connected to the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie are fake, according to a report. The kidnapping messages that Guthrie's family and several media outlets received following her abduction were "deemed by federal investigators to be fake communications," Reuters said…

  5. People

    FBI Makes Bombshell Discovery About Nancy Guthrie Ransom Notes: Report (opens People)

    Published

    People's feed description

    A reported third note recently claimed to know the identities of Nancy's kidnappers

  6. Not The Bee

    Report: FBI believes Nancy Guthrie kidnapping notes to be fake (opens Not The Bee)

    Published

    Not The Bee's feed description

    The latest update on the Nancy Guthrie case leaves us with fewer answers than before.

  7. Honolulu Star-Advertiser

    FBI: Nancy Guthrie kidnapping ransom notes were fake (opens Honolulu Star-Advertiser)

    Published

    Honolulu Star-Advertiser's feed description

    WASHINGTON >> All three kidnapping-related messages that have surfaced in news media reports about the disappearance of “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie’s elderly mother have been deemed by federal investigators to be fake communications, an FBI official told Reuters on Tuesday.

  8. Independent Journal Review

    FBI Reportedly Concludes All Nancy Guthrie Ransom Messages Were Fake (opens Independent Journal Review)

    Published

    Independent Journal Review's feed description

    The FBI determined that all three reported messages tied to the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie's elderly mother were fraudulent, Reuters reported Tuesday.

  9. The Brunswick News

    Nancy Guthrie ransom notes now deemed bogus by FBI, report says (opens The Brunswick News)

    Published

    The Brunswick News's feed description

    Three ransom notes delivered after “Today" show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother, Nancy Guthrie, disappeared are not legitimate, according to a report. The debunked messages include a pair of ransom notes received by media outlets in early February — just days…

  10. Fox News

    FBI official pushes back on claims that Nancy Guthrie kidnapping ransom demands are fake: report (opens Fox News)

    Published

    Fox News's feed description

    FBI officials say ransom notes in Nancy Guthrie's abduction case are allegedly more legitimate than not, despite claims they were deemed fake.

  11. BNO News

    TMZ disputes Reuters report that notes in Nancy Guthrie case are fake (opens BNO News)

    Published

    BNO News's feed description

    TMZ is disputing a Reuters report that the FBI has determined ransom notes sent after the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie were fake, according to the outlet. Nancy Guthrie, 84, the mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie, disappeared from her home in the Tucson, Arizona, area in early February.

  12. Deseret News

    FBI says Nancy Guthrie ransom notes were all fake (opens Deseret News)

    Published

    Deseret News's feed description

    The FBI has ruled that three ransom notes and messages concerning the Nancy Guthrie abduction case were fake. Guthrie is the mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie. The 84-year-old was abducted from her Tucson, Arizona, home in the early hours of Feb. 1.

  13. The Hollywood Reporter

    Nancy Guthrie Ransom Notes Were All Reportedly Fake (opens The Hollywood Reporter)

    Published

    The Hollywood Reporter's feed description

    Investigators tell Reuters the notes sent to TMZ and local media had no connection to the 'Today' show host's mother's disappearance.

  14. The Columbian

    Nancy Guthrie ransom notes deemed bogus (opens The Columbian)

    Published

    The Columbian's feed description

    Three ransom notes delivered after “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother, Nancy Guthrie, disappeared are not legitimate, according to a report.

  15. KVOA Tucson

    FBI releases statement on ransom notes in Nancy Guthrie investigation (opens KVOA Tucson)

    Published

    KVOA Tucson's feed description

    TUCSON, Ariz. (KVOA) — The FBI has released a statement on the ransom notes received during the investigation into the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie.

  16. New York Post

    FBI hasn’t dismissed all Nancy Guthrie ransom notes — but reveals many led to dead end (opens New York Post)

    Published

    New York Post's feed description

    The Reuters story referred to an unfinished internal document and the legitimacy of some of the messages is still being investigated, law enforcement sources confirmed to The Post Wednesday.

  17. News Nation Now

    Nancy Guthrie update: FBI says some ransom notes 'potentially legitimate' (opens News Nation Now)

    Published

    News Nation Now's feed description

    The FBI statement comes in the wake of reports that three demand messages were fake.

  18. ABC 17 Mid-Missouri

    Some Nancy Guthrie ransom notes were illegitimate ‘extortion attempts,’ while others are still being investigated, FBI says (opens ABC 17 Mid-Missouri)

    Published

    ABC 17 Mid-Missouri's feed description

    By Taylor Romine, Brian Stelter, CNN (CNN) — Some of the ransom notes sent to news outlets in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of NBC “Today” show anchor Savannah Guthrie, were not legitimate, but other notes might be and are still under investigation, the FBI Phoenix office said Wedne…

  19. WTOL Toledo

    FBI confirms some ransom notes in Nancy Guthrie case were extortion attempts (opens WTOL Toledo)

    Published

    WTOL Toledo's feed description

    Five months after Nancy Guthrie's disappearance, the FBI confirmed some ransom notes were extortion attempts, while the investigation into her case continues.

  20. Just the News

    California man pleads guilty in Tucson for sending a fake ransom note to Nancy Guthrie's family (opens Just the News)

    Published

    Just the News's feed description

    Nancy, who is the mother of “Today” host Savannah Guthrie, is still missing five months after she was taken from her home, with no known suspects or leads from investigators.

  21. The Republic

    Some ransom notes sent in Nancy Guthrie case still being investigated as legitimate, FBI says (opens The Republic)

    Published

    The Republic's feed description

    The FBI has discounted some of the ransom notes that surfaced after the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie as nothing more than extortion attempts, but the agency said Wednesday it’s still evaluating others that might be legitimate.

  22. AL.com

    FBI’s latest Nancy Guthrie info suggests ransom notes ‘potentially legitimate’ (opens AL.com)

    Published

    AL.com's feed description

    The FBI not ready to dismiss all ransom notes received.

  23. Entertainment Weekly

    FBI confirms some Nancy Guthrie ransom notes determined to be fake, others are still being investigated (opens Entertainment Weekly)

    Published

    Entertainment Weekly's feed description

    "This case continues to be investigated as a kidnapping for ransom case," the FBI tells EW in a statement.

  24. CBS News

    FBI investigating legitimacy of Nancy Guthrie ransom notes (opens CBS News)

    Published

    CBS News's feed description

    The FBI said in a statement Wednesday that some ransom notes in Nancy Guthrie's disappearance have been "deemed to be extortion attempts without legitimacy," and other "demands may potentially be legitimate and are still being investigated as such."

  25. Newsweek

    Some Nancy Guthrie Ransom Notes May Be Legitimate, FBI Says (opens Newsweek)

    Published

    Newsweek's feed description

    The FBI said some notes had been deemed "extortion attempts without legitimacy," but other demands were still under investigation.

Showing the first 25 of 48 headlines. ·

Identical headlines usually mean shared wire copy. They are counted as separate articles but are not independent confirmation.

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