Veteran television journalist Ashleigh Banfield is standing firm after suggesting that a member of Savannah Guthrie’s family “may be” connected to the mysterious disappearance of her mother, Nancy Guthrie.
Law enforcement officials say that claim is unfounded. Banfield says she is not backing down.
“I stand by my reporting,” Banfield wrote in a private email shared Thursday night. “And so does my source. Nothing has changed.”
Nancy Guthrie vanished from her Arizona home over the weekend. Family members say she was last seen Saturday evening. When relatives arrived the next day, she was gone.
Her wallet, keys, and cellphone were still inside the house.
There were no obvious signs of forced entry.
The disappearance quickly drew national attention due to her daughter’s high-profile role in television news.
In a NewsNation report promoted earlier this week, Banfield stated that Guthrie’s son-in-law “may be the prime suspect” in the case. She stressed that she did not identify him as a suspect, only as a possibility raised by her source.
Authorities strongly disagreed.
“There is no suspect. There is no person of interest,” said Chris Nanos, who oversees the investigation. He called public speculation “reckless” and warned that it could interfere with the case.
Despite that pushback, Banfield has not retracted her reporting.
She emphasized that her information came from a single source she has spoken with repeatedly over the last several days.
The case took another disturbing turn when the family received a ransom note.
The message claimed Nancy Guthrie is “safe but scared” and demanded payment in Bitcoin. It offered no direct way to communicate with the alleged kidnappers.
The note was first detailed publicly by Harvey Levin of TMZ, who said the letter appeared deliberate and carefully constructed.
“This is not something thrown together in five minutes,” Levin said. “It’s structured. It’s layered. It’s detailed.”
Levin also dismissed the idea that the note was generated by artificial intelligence or written by someone acting irrationally.
“This is not AI,” he said. “And it’s not a crazy person.”
According to Levin, the email containing the ransom note may point to a local origin.
“Based on what’s written there, I believe this person is within the Tucson area,” he said.
He added that investigators have been unable to trace the source of the message, increasing urgency as a deadline mentioned in the note quietly passed.
Federal authorities, including the FBI, have not confirmed the note’s authenticity but say it is being treated as credible.
As pressure mounted, Savannah Guthrie’s brother, Camron, addressed the alleged abductors directly in a video shared on Instagram.
“Whoever is holding our mother, we want to hear from you,” he said. “We need a way to communicate. We are waiting for contact.”
He added that the family’s only priority is proof that Nancy is alive.
“We have to know you have our mom,” he said. “We want to talk to you.”
As of now, authorities say there is no confirmed suspect, no verified motive, and no direct communication channel with whoever sent the ransom note.
Meanwhile, the media spotlight continues to intensify.
Banfield remains defiant. Law enforcement remains cautious.
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