{"id":35327,"date":"2026-08-09T23:01:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T18:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=35327"},"modified":"2026-08-09T23:01:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T18:01:10","slug":"nancy-guthrie-ransom-notes-doubted-by-forensic-psychologist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=35327","title":{"rendered":"Nancy Guthrie ransom notes doubted by forensic psychologist"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F08%2F136913938.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft wp-block-nypost-editor-partner-article-links\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>The two letters purported to be connected to\u00a0Nancy Guthrie\u2019s\u00a0suspected abduction leave investigators with questions about their authenticity, but forensic psychologist Dr. Kris Mohandie says investigators made the right call by releasing them because doing so could renew public interest and generate new leads.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/07\/us-news\/nancy-guthrie-investigators-experiencing-increase-in-tips-following-ransom-notes-release\/\">ransom note<\/a> is legit, and I don\u2019t think that that letter days later is legitimate \u2014 but I think it\u2019s appropriate for law enforcement to investigate it just in case it might be,\u201d he told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA good investigation keeps an open mind,\u201d he said. \u201cIt really does.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Some investigators said they were confident that the ransom demands are all bogus, while others are cautious about reaching that conclusion while <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/tag\/nancy-guthrie\/\">Guthrie\u2019s whereabouts remain unknown<\/a>, federal law enforcement sources told Fox News and Fox News Digital last month.<\/p>\n<p>Early in the case, they appeared to have taken them seriously, with Heith Janke, then the special agent in charge of the FBI\u2019s Phoenix field office, sitting down with Guthrie\u2019s adult children, including \u201cToday\u201d co-host\u00a0Savannah Guthrie, to record a video response to the first note.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Savannah Guthrie\u2019s mother Nancy Guthrie was reported missing on Feb. 1.  <span class=\"credit\">Facebook\/Savanah Guthrie<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Mohandie also cautioned against treating <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/03\/us-news\/nancy-guthrie-ransom-notes-were-written-by-two-different-people-expert-claims\/\">crime scene details in the first letter<\/a> as proof its author was involved. Those include references to Guthrie\u2019s Apple Watch and a broken floodlight.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t make much out of those two details,\u201d he said. \u201cThey seem to be details that inadvertently could have gotten to somebody, and so that\u2019s not enough for me to say, this is something only the killer would know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mohandie said the letters also point to an author who appears comfortable with technology, citing references to Bitcoin, email communication and the unusual demand for \u201c$4 million USD\u201d \u2014 details he said could help identify whoever wrote the letters, whether they prove to be genuine or a hoax.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>FBI Director Kash Patel released a surveillance image of a suspect wanted in connection with the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie from her Tucson, Ariz., home on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026.  <span class=\"credit\">FBI<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI certainly question the legitimacy of the so-called ransom note in which the individual is sending it to a news outlet, saying this will be a ransom, so on and so forth, talks about \u2018we\u2019 and then breaks into \u2018I\u2019 in terms of pronouns,\u201d Mohandie told Fox News Digital. \u201cThere are a lot of things wrong with that ransom note, and it raised a lot of questions for me of veracity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mohandie said he also has doubts about the\u00a0second letter, which claimed Guthrie had \u201cperished\u201d days after the alleged kidnapping. While he said investigators are right to pursue every credible lead, he questioned whether a kidnapper would risk exposing themselves again with an apology or use the word \u201cperished\u201d in place of more common terms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI understand why law enforcement needs to investigate these as potential leads, and it is a strategy that has worked,\u201d he said. \u201cYou look at Ted Kaczynski and putting that out there on the Unabomber case is what led to it being resolved. So they need to put that out there. Maybe somebody does recognize something unique in these writings.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>New York Post\u2019s cover on Nancy Guthrie from Feb. 6, 2026.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Even if the notes are hoaxes, investigators are looking to identify the sender and potentially bring criminal charges, as they did in the case of Derrick Callella, who sent \u201cimposter\u201d ransom demands to the Guthrie family in early February and has already pleaded guilty.<\/p>\n<p>However, he added, \u201cthe devil is usually in the details.\u201d And while much of the contents of the notes have been publicly known for months, the grammar and punctuation were only available to a select few before the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/02\/us-news\/bungling-nancy-guthrie-probers-ignored-blood-on-porch-thinking-it-was-unrelated-and-opened-crime-scene-report\/\">Pima County Sheriff\u2019s Department<\/a> made them public on Friday, July 31.<\/p>\n<p>Mohandie said the surveillance footage released by investigators remains the most significant publicly known piece of evidence, adding that it appears more consistent with a\u00a0burglary or home invasion\u00a0than a sophisticated kidnapping plot.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Investigators look around the residence of Nancy Guthrie on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Tucson, Ariz. <span class=\"credit\">James Keivom for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cUnfortunately, I think this case is a simple matter of a burglary gone wrong and then attempts to cover things up,\u201d Mohandie said. \u201cBut that\u2019s a hypothesis and good investigators are investigating all hypotheses and following leads, and I think they\u2019re doing their job here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The only known suspect, the man who <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/02\/11\/us-news\/key-details-that-could-id-nancy-guthrie-suspect\/\">appears in the Nest doorbell video<\/a>, remains unidentified. According to the FBI, he is roughly 5 feet, 9 inches to 5 feet, 10 inches tall with an average build. He was carrying a black Ozark Trail backpack.<\/p>\n<p>Anyone with information is asked to dial 1-800-CALL-FBI\u00a0or, to remain anonymous, call 520-88-CRIME.<\/p>\n<p>The sum of all rewards in the case is over $1.2 million \u2014 none of which has been claimed.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The two letters purported to be connected to\u00a0Nancy Guthrie\u2019s\u00a0suspected abduction leave investigators with questions about their authenticity, but forensic psychologist Dr. Kris Mohandie says investigators made the right call by releasing them because doing so could renew public interest and generate new leads. \u201cI don\u2019t think the ransom note is legit, and I don\u2019t think&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/136913938.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35327\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/35328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}