Overview
- Nancy Guthrie, 84, was reported missing from her Tucson home on Feb. 1 after doorbell camera footage showed a masked person and investigators found blood at the scene.
- The Pima County Sheriff’s Department made public two February messages in July, the first demanding millions in bitcoin and the second saying Guthrie had “perished” and been “buried in nature.”
- Retired investigator Lisa Miller identified repeated comma splices, open compounds (for example “heart related” and “smartwatch” written as two words), mixed use of a dollar sign and “USD,” and consistent date/time formatting that she says links both notes to one author.
- Investigators continue lab work and digital checks, including mixed DNA analysis at the FBI lab, surveillance review and blockchain tracing, and no arrests or public authentication of the notes have been announced.
- The Guthrie family and authorities are urging tips with more than $1.2 million in combined rewards available, and Miller’s use of the linguistic concept of idiolect — a person’s unique speech and writing habits — is being promoted as a practical way for the public to spot matches.