Within a week of Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance earlier this year, two notes purportedly written by the 84-year-old’s abductors were sent to local news outlets. The first note demanded a ransom of millions of dollars for her return. The second note said Guthrie was dead — though the culprit did not mean to kill her, according to law enforcement sources.

Investigation Ongoing

The contents of the second note were previously known to CNN, as well as to a local news station in Tucson that received both notes. CNN and the news station agreed to a request from law enforcement and the family to hold off on reporting the contents of both notes. Law enforcement made that request as part of their efforts to solve the case.

Authorities also believed the public interest in Guthrie would wane and investigators would receive fewer tips if they released information that said she had died. Most importantly, investigators were thinking more long-term, the sources said. If they did zero in on a suspect or suspects, they would be able to question them on the details of the note. If the information in the notes was publicized, it would have compromised one of the few pieces of information only the kidnappers would know.

The investigation remains ‘active and ongoing,’ the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, the leading investigative body, told CNN on Monday. On ‘Today’ Tuesday morning, Savannah Guthrie urged anyone with information about her mother’s disappearance to come forward, even if anonymously. The FBI hotline is 1-800-CALL-FBI.

Original reporting: WPBF (Treasure Coast / Hearst) — read the source article.