FBI Phoenix said that apparent ransom demands and other notes sent in the wake of the unsolved abduction of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie may still be real, despite recent claims to the contrary.
"The FBI and its task force partners have received several ransom notes over the course of this investigation," the FBI's Phoenix office said in a statement on Wednesday. "Some have been deemed to be extortion attempts without legitimacy. Other ransom demands may potentially be legitimate and are still being investigated as such. This case continues to be investigated as a kidnapping for ransom case. The FBI has and will continue to offer all assistance possible in the investigation — however local authorities remain the lead."
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos then issued a statement on Wednesday: "Throughout this investigation, the Pima County Sheriff's Department has received information regarding potential ransom notes related to the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie. Every tip and lead is taken seriously and is forwarded directly to our detectives, who continue to work in coordination with the FBI.
"Any questions regarding alleged ransom notes should be directed to the FBI. We appreciate the public's continued cooperation and the information provided throughout this investigation. Anyone with information that may assist investigators is encouraged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit an anonymous tip to 88-CRIME."
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As Fox News Digital reported previously, sources close to the investigation appear split regarding the notes' potential authenticity — or lack thereof.
Earlier Wednesday, an unnamed official told ransom demand recipient TMZ that some investigators view the demands as potentially "more legitimate than not."
"It is more likely than not that the two ransom notes are real," TMZ's executive producer Harvey Levin said Wednesday, citing an unnamed FBI official with knowledge of the case. "Further in that conversation, this person said, 'They are more legitimate than not.' That's a quote."
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He made the remarks in a video in response to a new report suggesting that the FBI deemed all the ransom demands in the Guthrie investigation inauthentic.
Some investigators said they were confident that the ransom demands are all bogus, while others are cautious about reaching that conclusion while Guthrie's whereabouts remain unknown, federal law enforcement sources told Fox News and Fox News Digital last week.
"They definitely have not determined it is, for sure, fake," Levin said.
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Authorities have not publicly confirmed the legitimacy of the first two notes that have been deemed possibly authentic — or a series of separate emails believed to be unrelated claiming to have knowledge about what happened to Guthrie.
"It is less likely that those letters are real, but they have not discounted that either," Levin added.
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Guthrie's daughter, "Today" co-host Savannah Guthrie, has said she believes at least two of the notes could be real. She and her siblings responded to those in videos posted to her Instagram in February.
Meanwhile, state and local authorities have both declined to discuss the latest developments regarding the ransom demands publicly.
When asked about the new reporting at a news briefing Wednesday, FBI Director Kash Patel declined to comment.
"I'm not going to comment on that," he told reporters during a Justice Department news briefing. "We are continuing to assist that investigation. We've always been in an assist role. It's a state matter being led by the state authorities."
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Nanos, whose agency is leading the investigation into Guthrie's suspected abduction, told Fox News Digital last week that it was the FBI at the forefront of the probe into whoever sent the ransom demands.
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"All ransom notes are being handled by the FBI," he said. "We’ve been pretty consistent with that. So I would have to defer you to them."
The family is asking anyone with information on Guthrie's case to dial 1-800-CALL-FBI. Tips can be provided anonymously to Tucson's Crime Stoppers affiliate, 88-Crime, at 1-520-882-7463.
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