Kidnapper of TV host’s mom apologized for her death
‘She perished shortly after she was taken’ and ‘is buried in nature now.’
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‘She perished shortly after she was taken’ and ‘is buried in nature now.’
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LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The alleged kidnapper of a American television star’s mother apologized as he told her family six days after her disappearance that she had died, according to a note released by police.
Nancy Guthrie, 84, vanished from her home in Arizona on the night of 31 January to 1 February, and her body has never been found.
Her daughter Savannah Guthrie, the popular anchor of a major morning news program, has repeatedly brought the case before the public, pleading for help.
In a statement Friday, six months after the kidnapping, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said that the search for Guthrie is ongoing, and asked for public assistance as it released two purported ransom notes sent to a local television station on 2 February and 6 February.
The first demands millions of dollars in Bitcoin for Guthrie’s safe return and threatens to kill her if her family does not comply.
The second informs the family that “she perished shortly after she was taken” and “is buried in nature now.”
The writer implies that Guthrie died of natural causes, taking her captors by surprise.
“We did not fully grasp the seriousness of her physical condition...We believe it was heart related,” it says.
“We are truly sorry,” the note adds, claiming that “we never intended to hurt her.”
The content of the notes was reported by US media in June, prompting another plea from her daughter for information on her mother’s wherabouts.
“Please do the right thing for us, for our family, for our children, and we love our mom, and we’ll never stop looking for her, never,” she said.
The kidnapping in Tucson, Arizona made headlines across the United States.
Interest intensified when security camera footage released by authorities showed a masked, apparently armed man at the house, which lies in the desert suburbs of the city.
US President Donald Trump said he had been following the case.
“I hope they find her,” he told reporters. “That family has gone through hell.”
