Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Savannah Guthrie, co-host of NBC's long-running morning programme Today, is believed to have died following her abduction from her home in Tucson, Arizona, after ransom notes sent to US media outlets indicated she did not survive her kidnapping. The notes, the contents of which were reported publicly this week by CNN and Tucson-area television station KOLD, said the kidnappers had not intended to kill her but that she died shortly after being abducted.

Nancy Guthrie was reported missing on 1 February after she was last seen on the evening of 31 January near her home in the Catalina Foothills neighbourhood on the outskirts of Tucson. Authorities subsequently released doorbell camera footage showing a masked individual outside her front door who appeared to tamper with the camera. Blood was found on the porch. The FBI, which is leading the investigation, described the suspect as a male of average build, approximately 5'9