Nancy Guthrie Is ‘OK but Scared,’ According to Ransom Letter Seen by TMZ Head Who Received It

More details are coming to light regarding the ransom letter related to the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie’s 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie, that authorities are taking very seriously.

During an interview with CNN on Thursday, February 5, TMZ founder Harvey Levin — whose outlet was among the very few who received the note that police are taking a close look at — provided new details about what the letter said.

While Levin prefaced that he needed “to be careful” with what he said due to the ongoing investigation surrounding the case, he told CNN’s Erin Burnett that, “The Monday deadline is far more consequential.”

As previously reported, two deadlines were given for their demands. The first deadline, which has now passed, was at 5 p.m. on Thursday. A second deadline is Monday, February 9, if the initial demand is not met. However, “no proof of life” for Nancy has been provided.

“It felt like somebody means business,” Levin explained. “When you read [the letter], it’s very detailed. This person thought through, I believe — if it’s legit — the markers of showing that it’s real. The bitcoin address [they asked to have money sent to] we checked immediately, and it’s a real address.”

Levin discussed the details that were in the letter that the FBI previously acknowledged during a press conference on Thursday. The ransom note spoke about an Apple Watch and a floodlight in Nancy’s home that made them believe it was legitimate.

“There is something else,” said Levin, explaining that the letter described the “the placement of the Apple Watch, which has not come out, and if that placement is accurate, I’m sure that is something that puts this letter on the FBI’s radar.”

In the letter, according to Levin, the person (or people) who wrote it said, “You will have no way of contacting me. This is the only contact,” which is why he said the 54-year-old Today anchor and her family are “pleading for proof of life.”

“That’s why they are begging because they have no idea how to get in touch with this person,” said Levin, adding that those behind the note “went to great lengths in sending this email to us in making sure that it stays anonymous. I don’t know that the FBI is at all close to figuring out where it came from.”

While there is currently no proof that Nancy is alive, Levin claimed that the letter stated at top: “Nancy is OK but scared.”

He added, “They say she is OK and also that she’s aware of the letter and the demands.”

Levin concluded by saying that he believes — “this is just my opinion,” he prefaced — that whoever sent the letter is “based in the Tucson area.”

He noted that the other outlet that received the letter is one local to the Tucson, Arizona, area, where Nancy lives.

The Today anchor’s mother was last seen on the night of Saturday, January 31, and she was reported missing the following day by family members after she failed to show up at church.

Nancy is described as 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs around 150 pounds; she has brown hair and blue eyes. While it’s been said that Nancy does not live with any cognitive issues, her life could be in danger if she does not take her medication daily, per authorities.