The search for Nancy Guthriemay have been botched from the very beginning ... with a new report detailing a string of costly blunders in the crucial hours after she vanished.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Pima County Sheriff's deputies initially gave little attention to dried blood on Nancy's front porch -- reportedly wondering whether it came from an unrelated head bump or nosebleed. Testing later confirmed it was Nancy's blood ... and authorities now believe it was connected to her kidnapping.
The outlet reports deputies also failed to immediately tape off the Tucson property ... leaving reporters, livestreamers, and even Amazon and pizza delivery drivers free to approach the porch. Authorities didn't put up crime-scene tape until three days after Nancy disappeared.
The Sheriff in the Nancy Guthrie abduction case is speaking out after authorities released two ransom notes tied to the disappearance of the 84-year-old, hoping the public can help crack the case as the investigation enters its sixth month.
Pima County Sheriff’s Department Sheriff Chris Nanos says investigators decided to make the letters public because they believe someone may recognize the wording, handwriting style or details inside the messages ... and that could provide the breakthrough they need.
Savannah Guthriehas issued a new plea for help in the case of her missing mother Nancy... begging for someone to come forward and saying her family is "desperate" for answers.
The "TODAY" anchor posted the emotionally charged plea on Instagram early Saturday morning to mark the 6-month anniversary of her mom's kidnapping -- you can see her entire statement below.
Savannah says she and her family simply want to be able to celebrate her mother's life ... but they cannot do that until she is found.
She implores, "We are begging for help. We are desperate. We need someone to come forward. Someone knows something. Someone suspects something. Someone recognizes the writing in the ransom demand notes. Someone has noticed something different, strange, troubling or just unusual - perhaps with someone they deeply love."
A delivery driver who claims he was wrongfully detained at gunpoint in the Nancy Guthrieinvestigation plans to sue over damage law enforcement allegedly caused at his home ... and we've got photos he says back up his claims.
Carlos Palazuelos' legal team provided the images ... which show battered and beaten walls, plus holes in the ceiling.
You can also see scuff marks on doors, what looks to be a fist-shaped hole in the wall, and a cracked door jamb.
Nancy Guthrie died "shortly" after she was taken from her home in Tucson, Arizona ... according to a never-before-seen ransom note that cops say was sent days after she was snatched out of her bed in the middle of the night.
The Pima County Sheriff's Department released two notes received by local Tucson news outlet KOLD ... the first is a Feb. 2 ransom demand and the second, received on Feb. 6, claims Nancy "perished."
The note is addressed to the Guthries and it says ... "We did not fully grasp the seriousness of her physical condition. We never intended to hurt her, that was not our intention. She perished shortly after she was taken. We believe it was heart related."
The author says Nancy "is buried in nature" ... and they tell the family, "Nothing you could have done could have changed the outcome."
A man who claims he was wrongfully detained in Nancy Guthrie's disappearance wants Pima County to pay up ... to the tune of $2.5 Mil!
According to ABC15, a Phoenix law firm has filed a notice of claim this week -- basically an official document you have to file before suing the government -- against the Pima County Sheriff's Department, Sheriff Chris Nanos, and Detective Earl Gieron.
The filing was made on behalf of Carlos Palazuelos, who claims he was wrongfully detained at gunpoint during the investigation for Savannah Guthrie's missing mom back in February.
Savannah Guthrie's plea Monday to her mother's kidnappers contained a very intriguing phrase -- "We have done our part" -- and now we know what she meant.
Our FBI sources tell us, they knew in advance Savannah was going to post another plea to the kidnappers. Our sources say it was an issue of timing -- this week marks 6 months since Nancy's kidnapping, and, as one FBI source tells us, "Anniversaries are the time to go back to the public and reignite interest [in a case]."
As for what Savannah meant by "We have done our part," we have checked the Bitcoin address from the first ransom note and no money has been recently deposited (The FBI deposited several hundred dollars months ago in an attempt to trace the account, to no avail). Our FBI sources say they continue to work with the Guthrie family and they have not sent the kidnappers money.
Savannah Guthrie is taking to social media to once again plead with person who abducted her 84-year-old mom, Nancy ... asking the kidnapper to do the right thing and bring Nancy home.
The "TODAY" host just posted a heartfelt message to Instagram, kicking things off by saying it's been months since her mom's abduction and her family is in agony and living in a never-ending nightmare because their situation is unchanged.
As everyone knows, Nancy, who was in poor health when she was abducted, has been missing for nearly 7 months and the kidnapper has yet to be indentified.
Savannah Guthrie's latest absence from "Today" has viewers wondering if it's connected to the kidnapping case involving her mom ... but TMZ has learned that's not what's going on.
Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Savannah is off for a few days to spend time with her family, and her absence has nothing to do with the investigation into the Nancy Guthrie abduction.
Savannah was absent from the NBC morning show for a second straight day Thursday, with Laura Jarrett filling in alongside Craig Melvin after Sheinelle Jones stepped in Wednesday.
The FBI is giving it to us straight from the horse's mouth ... telling TMZ some of the Nancy Guthrie ransom notes might be legit, but others not so much.
FBI Phoenix tells us ... “The FBI and its task force partners have received several ransom notes over the course of this investigation. Some have been deemed to be extortion attempts without legitimacy. Other ransom demands may potentially be legitimate and are still being investigated as such."
The statement goes on, saying ... "This case continues to be investigated as a kidnapping for ransom case. The FBI has and will continue to offer all assistance possible in the investigation -- however local authorities remain the lead."
10:00 AM PT -- Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the Reuters report about the ransom notes being fake is not accurate.
The series of alleged ransom notes sent to media outlets about Nancy Guthrie's kidnapping are bogus, according to a new report.
Reuters published an article Tuesday, saying the Federal Bureau of Investigation determined the notes are fake, but did not say how investigators came to that conclusion.
TMZ and other news outlets received the notes, which were then turned over to the FBI for analysis. The 2 alleged ransom notes were sent early on in the case ... and Reuters references the separate notes from someone claiming to know the kidnappers' identities, which TMZ obtained.
TMZ has received yet another email from the person claiming to know the identities of Nancy Guthrie's kidnappers, and this time he says he has video of the "main guy" and Nancy the day she died.
We have authenticated the new email is from the same person who sent us the previous ones. He references an old Bitcoin address, which matches, as does his alias in the email.
He seems to scoff at our report the FBI believes the person who wrote the email might be a woman. He goes on to say ... "I am not the idiot who recently called in a tip about her burial site in Mexico."
The suspect in Nancy Guthrie's abduction case is not on the brink of being taken into custody ... despite a former FBI agent's claim to the contrary.
Here's the deal ... former FBI Special Agent Maureen O'Connell appeared on "The Megyn Kelly Show" and said she believes the FBI is close to finding the masked suspect who was captured in footage taken on her doorstep.
O'Connell wouldn't elaborate on why she felt they were getting close ... and we've talked to sources who tell us she's overblowing the situation quite a bit.
Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... to say the agency is honing in on an individual is not necessarily true.
Savannah Guthrie contacted law enforcement earlier this month after she says she learned a controversial YouTube personality was streaming outside her mother's home.
According to police records, obtained by TMZ, Savannah reached out to authorities on June 11 and told them she received information that a YouTuber known as "Criminal Network" was livestreaming and parked in front of the Arizona residence where Nancy Guthrie was abducted.
The report says authorities identified the individual as Alex Zabel from previous investigations.
Police documents state Savannah is one of the responsible parties connected to the property and said she'd been dealing with several internet-based "true crime" vloggers, including Zabel ... and she was "extremely upset" upon learning he was back outside the residence.
It sounds like a big break is imminent in the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping case ... a former FBI agent says the feds are closing in on capturing the masked suspect caught on video outside Nancy's front door.
Former FBI Special Agent Maureen O'Connell was on "The Megyn Kelly Show" and she said she is 75% confident the masked suspect will be tracked down.
An FBI source contacted TMZ Tuesday morning about the Nancy Guthrie ransom demands, as well as the person claiming to know where her body is buried.
The source contacted us after nearly a month of getting ghosted by the agency. As we have reported, the FBI was in frequent touch with TMZ regarding the first ransom note as well as the emails we received from someone claiming to know the identities of the kidnappers and the location of Nancy's body.
We now have clarity over the sequence of events in the first critical week. Our source -- who is directly involved in the kidnapping investigation -- tells us the reason Savannah Guthrie obliquely pleaded with the kidnappers a week after the kidnapping to return her mother's body -- offering to pay money -- is that the kidnappers appeared to have freaked out that Nancy died shortly after she was kidnapped and seemed to retreat from demanding money. Our source says Savanah offered money to incentivize the kidnappers to lead the family to Nancy.
