Released Nancy Guthrie ransom notes generated ‘slight increase’ in tips: Sheriff’s department
Savannah Guthrie and mother Nancy Guthrie, June 15, 2023. (Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The recent release of two credible ransom notes sent to Nancy Guthrie’s family in the days after her abduction generated a “slight increase” in tips, but none that have cracked the case, authorities told ABC News.
The 84-year-old mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie was kidnapped from her Tucson, Arizona, home in the early hours of Feb. 1 and remains missing.
On Friday, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department released details from two ransom notes received by Tucson media in the days after the abduction.
The first note, sent on Feb. 2 to Savannah Guthrie, said, “We have your mother Nancy. She is safe but scared.” The note asked for millions of dollars in Bitcoin and said “she will be killed” if payment was not received.
The note included descriptions of a smartwatch near her bed and a damaged floodlight in the home’s backyard.
The second note, sent on Feb. 6 to the Guthrie family, said Nancy Guthrie died and “is buried in nature now,” according to the sheriff’s department.
“We did not fully grasp the seriousness of her physical condition,” the note stated. “We never intended to hurt her, that was not our intention. She perished shortly after she was taken.”
The note included an apology and said to the family, “Nothing you could have done could have changed the outcome. We want your family to know this and hope you all can find peace.”
In response to an inquiry from ABC News, the sheriff’s department said Tuesday that “investigators have seen a slight increase in tips since the two ransom notes were released,” adding that “all tips have been followed up on.”
Savannah Guthrie again pleaded for help in an Instagram post Saturday, writing, “We need someone to come forward.”
“Someone knows something. Someone suspects something,” the journalist said. “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. Perhaps they are afraid to come forward.”
“We are real people, facing real grief,” she said. “We will never stop looking for answers.”
Anyone with information is urged to call 911, the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI, or the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900.
(LONGVIEW, Wash.) — Multiple people were injured in a chemical vat implosion at a facility in Washington state, authorities said.
The incident was reported Tuesday morning at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company in Longview, fire authorities said.
The “hazardous materials incident” occurred at approximately 7:18 a.m., the Longview Fire Department said. The implosion involved a vat of chemical treatment product, it said. Authorities initially referred to the incident as a chemical explosion.
Multiple people suffered injuries, including chemical burns, and were transported by ambulance to area hospitals, the fire department said. The extent of their injuries is unclear, it said.
“Fire crews and a Hazardous Materials Team remain on scene working with Nippon Dynawave employees to mitigate the product and container involved,” the Longview Fire Department said in an alert on social media.
There is no immediate threat to the public, authorities said.
Residents were urged to avoid the area amid the active emergency response.
The Nippon facility is located on the Washington-Oregon border near the Columbia River. It is a kraft pulp and paper mill and liquid packaging plant, according to the Washington Department of Ecology.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
The Fulton County Jail is seen on August 23, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
(ATLANTA) — Former Fulton County Jail detainee Rashaad Muhammad detailed what he said was a harrowing experience being held at the Atlanta, Georgia, facility from August 2025 to February of this year.
After being arrested on Aug. 11, the 33-year-old — who used a cane to walk and took medication regularly for a blood condition — alleged at a press conference last Friday that he was repeatedly denied medical care as his physical condition rapidly deteriorated for more than two weeks.
As he allegedly experienced symptoms like vomiting bile and losing the ability to stand up, Muhammad said his requests for medical attention were ignored for several days and he ultimately experienced septic shock. After being transported to Grady Memorial Hospital, he fell into a coma and both of his hands and legs were amputated.
In a statement to ABC News, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office said Muhammad spent 177 of the 188 days he was in custody “at Grady under hospital care.”
“For days, I’m in the corner by myself suffering. Nobody’s checking on me. Nobody’s coming up to you,” an emotional Muhammad told the press. “I’m back there. I was tired, so I’m trying to tell the officer, ‘Hey officer, I need to, you know, it’s getting bad.’ Nothing.”
He alleged that officials in the jail ignored his condition, even as he asked for medical help each day.
“I’m begging the sheriff to let me see the provider … I can’t get up. Every time they do head count, you have to stand by your door,” he said. “It got so bad to the point where I couldn’t even get up. I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful to the officers but I just couldn’t get up. So they just started, they’d see me, they didn’t, I didn’t have to do headcount. But that’s when I knew it was bad.”
Muhammad had been charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault and firearm possession. According to court records, the warrant alleges that he drove up to the victim, got out of his car and fired multiple shots at the victim, then drove off.
At the press conference, Muhammad and his attorneys described this as a case of self-defense. All charges were dropped earlier this month. It’s unclear exactly why the charges were dropped.
“For them to drop the charges is another slap in the face, because I was there for no reason. I didn’t have to be there,” Muhammad said.
An attorney from the Georgia Public Defender Council represented Muhammad at the time.
“This case raises serious questions about humane treatment in custody and emphasizes the importance of testing allegations through a fair adversarial process that ultimately resulted in Mr. Muhammad’s charges being dismissed,” a spokesperson for the agency said in a statement to ABC News.
The prosecutors in the case did not immediately respond to ABC News’ requests for comment.
The Fulton County jail system has been the subject of scrutiny for years, drawing national attention in 2022 over the death of LaShawn Thompson in a bed bug-infested cell. In response to a series of reports of inmate abuse and neglect, including Thompson’s death, the Department of Justice launched a civil investigation into the Fulton County jail system in July 2023.
“We need to know why Fulton County did what they did in choosing their health care provider,” Muhammad’s attorney, Eric Hertz, told the press. “We need to know why a bottle of pills which he had on him when he was originally arrested, why they didn’t let him take that with him, why they didn’t carefully give him the antibiotics as he needed them.”
In a statement to ABC News, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office said it cannot comment on or release information about Muhammad’s medical condition or treatment due to privacy laws.
“It is important to note that of the 188 days Mr. Muhammad was in custody, 177 of those days were spent at Grady under hospital care,” it said. “During his time at the Fulton County Jail, he was under the medical care of NaphCare.”
NaphCare is a private, for-profit correctional health care company based in Alabama. A 2024 report released by the Justice Department after LaShawn Thompson’s death noted “ongoing issues” with the company’s staffing at the jail, but its contract with Georgia state was ultimately renewed until 2027.
At the press conference on Friday, attorney Ben Crump noted that the same medical provider was involved in both Thompson and Muhammad’s situations.
“We need answers, and we need Fulton County to act. This is deplorable, this is horrific, this is egregious,” he said. “And worst of all, this is inhumane. We don’t treat human beings like this.”
In a statement to ABC News, NaphCare said “Fulton County jails represent one of the most difficult environments” where the company provides care in the U.S.
“Despite the challenges, we have been extraordinarily successful in improving care and saving lives, maintaining accreditation by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, and working with federal court monitors to implement reforms under a federal court consent decree,” the company said.
NaphCare noted that it has “cared for tens of thousands of patients, and have had thousands of positive patient outcomes” in the time it has been contracted to work at the jail.
It also addressed Muhammad’s case specifically.
“We are also deeply saddened by and sorry for the suffering and losses that Mr. Muhammad experienced,” the company said its statement. “We understand that he has a right to file a lawsuit against us, and we will respond to the allegations in court filings and will not comment to the news media outside of the ongoing court proceedings.”
Muhammad’s legal team called for accountability and a full investigation into the conditions and medical care within the jail.
ABC News’ Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.
U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters in the Oval Office at the White House on July 06, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge in Florida has referred President Donald Trump’s attorneys for potential disciplinary action over their filing of the $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS that resulted in the creation of the now-defunct “Anti-Weaponization Fund.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
