A new discovery by the home of Nancy Guthrie in Arizona, nearly seven months into her disappearance, is sparking online chatter.
Over the weekend, human remains were supposedly discovered in the desert nearby, with the Pima County Sheriff's Department now investigating the scene.
© InstagramHowever, amid some discussion surrounding whether the news was connected to the disappearance of the 84-year-old mother of TODAY anchor Savannah Guthrie, the Sheriff's Department issued a statement clarifying the opposite.
The sheriff addresses "human remains" near Nancy Guthrie's home
"PCSD Search & Rescue deputies are responding to reports of human remains found in a desert area near West Ajo Way and South La Cholla Boulevard," their latest update read.
"The remains appear to have been at the location for an extended period of time. At this time, there is no indication they are connected to the Nancy Guthrie investigation," it continued. "Additional information will be released as it becomes available," signing off from the sheriff himself, Chris Nanos.
The release of the Nancy Guthrie ransom notes
On August 1, six months into Nancy's disappearance, believed to be the result of a kidnapping attempt, two ransom notes sent to the media and to the PCSD were released to the public.
The first of the notes, sent on February 2, a day after Nancy, 84, was reported missing, included what was allegedly a message to the Guthrie family demanding a bitcoin payment for her return. "We have your mother Nancy. She is safe but scared. She will be held for ransom and once payment is received she will be released unharmed," the letter stated in part.
© X/TwitterA second note was sent four days later, which claimed that Nancy had died of a heart condition owing to the stress she was under and lack of medication, going as far as to say she was "buried in nature."
The PCSD put out a video answering several questions in connection with the case, including why they decided to put out the ransom notes now.
© Instagram"Well, really two reasons," the sheriff explained, noting firstly that notes were already "out there," with several media outlets having access to them already. "We just saw what was being said, and we felt like we needed to put something out that's really accurate, and this was the time," he added.
"Investigators felt like there's a number of pieces of information in these notes that just might jar someone to say, 'I've heard that,' or [recognize] the wording, the style of the writing… it might jog somebody to think about who would've written this, how was this done?" he continued.
© Getty Images"Anybody who reads them, my investigators, we look at it, and clearly there's things in there that are very concerning to our investigative team, too," the sheriff noted. "So we hope that by releasing the actual note we'll get some response from the community."
