By Steve Gorman and Jana Winter
WASHINGTON, July 1 (Reuters) - The FBI said on Wednesday it is still treating the disappearance of "Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie's elderly mother as a kidnapping for ransom, despite determining that some purported ransom notes in the case were extortion bids by imposters.
Federal investigators had discounted as not credible three widely reported kidnapping-related messages in the Guthrie case, two of which had been described as ransom notes, an FBI official told
Reuters on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
In a statement on X the following day, the Phoenix FBI office said investigators had received an unspecified number of notes deemed to lack legitimacy over the five months since Nancy Guthrie vanished from her home in Tucson, Arizona.
"Some have been determined to be extortion attempts without legitimacy. Other ransom demands may potentially be legitimate and are still being investigated as such," the FBI said.
"This case continues to be investigated as a kidnapping for ransom case," it added in the statement.
The 84-year-old, in frail health with limited mobility, was last seen alive on January 31 at her home. A friend contacted family members the next when Guthrie did not show up to church as expected, and relatives entering her home found her missing.
A search of her residence showed she had left behind essential items such as her wallet, cellphone, hearing aid and medication. Blood found on Guthrie's front porch was hers, DNA tests confirmed later.
THREE NOTES GAINED WIDE ATTENTION
The first of three kidnapping-related notes initially reported by media before being turned over to authorities set two deadlines for a ransom to be paid in Bitcoin cryptocurrency.
It was received by KOLD-TV, a CBS affiliate in Tucson, on February 2, two days after Nancy Guthrie was reported missing, the FBI said in court records and statements, adding it was taking the note seriously but had yet to conclusively determine its authenticity.
A second note soon after was reported by NBC News last week to have referred to Guthrie as having died, without making an apology or demanding any payment for the return of her body.
Last week, celebrity news site TMZ.com reported receiving a third note from someone claiming to know the identities of the abductors and to have video of the "main guy" involved in her kidnapping, as well as of Guthrie on the day she died.
The FBI official quoted exclusively by Reuters on Tuesday said investigators had concluded the first two ransom notes originated from the same sender but were assessed as not credible, as was the third note reported by TMZ.
In addition, the head of the Phoenix field office, Heith Janke, disclosed at a Feb. 5 news conference that someone had been taken into custody in connection with an "imposter ransom demand" sent to family members.
Court records from that day show Derrick Callella was charged with two counts of harassment by telecom devices for a fake ransom demand send by text message to Savannah Guthrie's sister and brother-in-law on Feb. 4.
Callella later pleaded not guilty, but a change-of-plea hearing in his case was set for Thursday in federal court in Tucson, court records show.
(Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Jana Winter in Washington; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
