“We are in agony, and we cannot be at peace. … We love our mom. We’ll never stop looking for her,” Guthrie said at the “Today” desk in New York, holding a tissue in her left hand.
Some media outlets had previously reported receiving ransom notes in the days after Guthrie’s disappearance but had not disclosed the details while the investigation was at an early stage. Guthrie’s family was aware of the notes.
CNN said a note indicated that those who kidnapped Guthrie did not mean to kill her but that she died shortly after her disappearance.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department referred questions about the ransom notes to the FBI, which declined to comment.
Tom Morrissey, a retired chief U.S. marshal in Arizona who isn’t involved in the Guthrie investigation, said details of a ransom note might be publicly released in investigations if authorities think it might help to identify a suspect. But he said specifics, such as whether a victim has died, are often held back simply to protect the investigation because authorities aren’t certain where their inquiry is headed.
“It’s still an open investigation,” Morrissey said. “These things can go into directions you wouldn’t believe to be possible.”
Bob Krygier, who retired as a lieutenant with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department in January, said it goes against procedure and common sense for investigators to reveal that a missing person has died until a body has been found or several years have passed since the person disappeared.
“Once you start making statements from the law enforcement side that has speculation, you lose so much credibility,” Krygier said.
