Business
FBI Confirms All Three Nancy Guthrie Ransom Notes Are Fake, Upending the Case’s Central Kidnapping Narrative
TUCSON, Ariz. — The FBI has determined that all three ransom notes circulated in connection with the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, are fraudulent, a bombshell development first reported Tuesday by Reuters that strips away the central kidnapping-for-ransom narrative that has dominated five months of public coverage and family appeals.
An anonymous FBI official told Reuters the FBI assessed the authenticity of two ransom notes reported in early February, just days after Guthrie vanished, and a third, more recent ransom note that claimed to know the identities of her kidnappers.
“None of the ransom notes are believed to be genuine,” the FBI source told the publication.
A second law enforcement source familiar with the matter confirmed the FBI’s assessment that the ransom notes were not genuine. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing nature of the investigation, and the FBI did not elaborate publicly on the specific methods used to reach its conclusions.
The revelation fundamentally reshapes the publicly understood picture of what happened to Nancy Guthrie after she was last seen at her Tucson, Arizona, home on the night of Jan. 31. The Guthrie family, responding to what they believed were genuine communications from kidnappers, made repeated public pleas to the alleged abductors in the weeks following her disappearance, with Savannah Guthrie telling them in one video message posted to social media, “we will pay.” Those appeals, posted alongside her siblings Camron and Annie Guthrie, were premised on the assumption that the ransom demands were real and that Nancy Guthrie was alive in the custody of those who had taken her. The FBI’s determination that all three notes were fabricated removes that premise entirely.
The first note, reported by TMZ, demanded a sum of cryptocurrency in the millions, setting two deadlines for payment on Feb. 5 and Feb. 9. TMZ also reported receiving nearly a dozen emails from the same man, with the first email sent just days after the abduction, saying he would divulge information in exchange for one bitcoin. The following day, the same sender wrote again saying time was “no longer of the essence,” suggesting Nancy had died after being taken to Mexico.
According to the FBI official who spoke to Reuters, investigators determined that the first two notes originated from the same sender, though the methods used to establish that connection were not disclosed. To test the authenticity of the first note and potentially identify those responsible, the FBI deposited a small amount of cryptocurrency into the account specified in the message. Those funds remained untouched and were never withdrawn, a finding that became a key piece of evidence supporting the conclusion that the sender had no actual connection to Guthrie’s disappearance.
The second note claimed Guthrie had died and was “buried in nature,” sources close to the investigation told NewsNation’s Brian Entin. That note, which was sent to KOLD, the NBC News affiliate in Arizona, had previously been described by NBC News as potentially credible, citing three people familiar with the situation. The FBI’s determination that it too was a fabrication represents a significant reversal from how the correspondence had been characterized in media coverage over the preceding weeks.
The third and most recent note was an email sent to TMZ claiming the sender possessed video evidence of the alleged abductor and of Guthrie on the day of her death, along with information that could identify the kidnappers. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos had publicly expressed skepticism about that communication before Tuesday’s FBI determination, voicing doubt about its authenticity on a local radio station shortly after it surfaced.
“People who call in fake ransom notes, people who claim for the sake of media and the family, they get out and disturb, in this case, an entire neighborhood,” Nanos said.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department, which is leading the overall investigation in coordination with the FBI, declined to comment directly on Tuesday’s findings. Sheriff’s spokesperson Angelica Carrillo referred all questions about the ransom notes to federal authorities and confirmed only that the investigation remains active.
“We don’t have any updates, other than this is still an active investigation,” Carrillo said. She added that DNA samples and video evidence collected during the investigation remain under forensic examination.
With the ransom note narrative now formally closed by the FBI’s determination, the case returns its focus entirely to the physical evidence collected at the scene of Guthrie’s disappearance. Authorities have confirmed that blood found on the front porch of her Tucson home belonged to her based on DNA testing. Surveillance footage recovered from a doorbell camera, retrieved from corrupted backend server data after the camera itself was tampered with, showed a masked individual approaching the property in the early morning hours of Feb. 1, shortly before Guthrie’s pacemaker app recorded a disconnection from her phone at 2:28 a.m. A separate piece of DNA evidence, recovered from a glove found near the home that resembled the one worn by the masked figure in the footage, failed to match any profile in the FBI’s national CODIS database, prompting investigators to pursue genetic genealogy testing as an alternative path toward identification.
No suspects have been publicly named or arrested in the case. The FBI has offered a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to Guthrie’s location or to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. The Guthrie family separately offered an additional $1 million reward, bringing the total to $1.1 million. Neither the FBI nor the Pima County Sheriff’s Department has publicly confirmed whether Guthrie is believed to be alive, and Savannah Guthrie herself has acknowledged the possibility that “she may already be gone” while continuing to hold onto hope publicly.
The case has drawn national attention for months, driven in large part by Savannah Guthrie’s visible public role as a sitting anchor at one of American television’s most watched morning programs. Her repeated on-air appeals for information, continued even as she maintained her professional duties at the “Today” show, kept the case in the public eye throughout the investigation’s most active stretch, including during Tuesday’s broadcast when she again referenced the family’s $1 million reward and described the ongoing ordeal as one of “agony.”
With all three ransom notes now formally dismissed as fabrications, investigators face the sobering challenge of pursuing a case that has produced significant physical evidence, including blood, video footage and a DNA sample, but has yet to yield a named suspect or confirmed account of what happened to an 84-year-old woman nearly five months after she vanished from her home in the early hours of a February morning.
The owner of TG Jones, the business carved out of WH Smith’s old high street estate, has secured High Court approval for a sweeping restructuring that will close up to 150 shops and impose steep rent cuts across most of the stores that remain.
Modella Capital acquired the chain last year and rebranded it as TG Jones, stripped of the name it had traded under for more than two centuries after WH Smith sold its loss-making bricks-and-mortar arm to focus on travel retail. The chain currently runs 451 shops and employs 4,700 people. WH Smith’s travel outlets in railway stations and airports were not part of the deal, and the group retained the rights to the historic brand.
Less than a year on, Modella has pushed through a radical rescue plan, blaming “challenging retail conditions”. Alongside the closures, roughly 120 landlords will receive no rent for up to three years, while rents on hundreds of other shops will be cut by between 15 per cent and 75 per cent. Modella says the plan is essential to the survival of the business and that some of the savings will be reinvested in stores as part of a wider turnaround.
The High Court heard this week that the retailer was on the brink of insolvency, facing a cash shortfall of nearly £8m by the end of the week unless the deal was waved through. Tom Smith KC, for TG Jones, told the hearing the business was “highly distressed” and “running on fumes at the moment”. He said it would have run out of cash in April but for a £10m loan from Modella and the deferral of liabilities, including a large tax bill owed to HMRC.
Modella laid part of the blame on years of underinvestment by the chain’s previous owners, arguing that long-term sales had been in decline. It also pointed to current trading pressures and the loss of the WH Smith name, echoing the strains the business flagged earlier this year when TG Jones faced a bailiff threat over unpaid tax and business rates.
The proposals drew considerable opposition, led by property group British Land, which branded them “fundamentally unfair”. Modella sweetened the terms with a series of concessions, persuading British Land to drop its challenge. Many suppliers are also absorbing a significant financial hit.
The plan forecasts that TG Jones will end up with around 302 shops, depending on how many landlords choose to terminate their leases rather than accept reduced rents.
The judge, Mr Justice Hildyard, had to weigh whether the restructuring was fair, and in particular whether creditors would be no worse off under the plan than in an administration, the central test for a restructuring plan of this kind under the Companies Act. He gave the plan the green light this morning, describing it in a summary of his judgment as “complex in their terms and far-reaching in their effect”.
He said he had been most troubled by the potential impact on landlords, but was ultimately persuaded that the deal was “objectively, the lesser of two evils” flowing from the company’s “trading failures and financial predicaments”.
Alex Willson, chief executive of TG Jones, welcomed the ruling. “This decision allows us to move ahead with our turnaround strategy,” he said. “The plan protects the substantial core of the store estate and makes TG Jones a stronger, more sustainable business. We are incredibly grateful to all the colleagues, partners and stakeholders who engaged constructively throughout the process, and to Modella Capital for its continued financial commitment.”
The ruling lands against a punishing backdrop for physical retail. The Centre for Retail Research, which tracks the scale of store closures and job losses across the UK high street, has warned that closures are running at their highest level in years as rising costs, higher business rates and weak footfall continue to erode the case for large store estates. The pressure has been building across the sector, with business rates repeatedly cited as a driver of accelerating high street closures.
Amy Ingham
Amy is a newly qualified journalist specialising in business journalism at Business Matters with responsibility for news content for what is now the UK’s largest print and online source of current business news.
Mystery traders used advance knowledge of a Chinese brokerage crackdown to make more than $100 million in profit from well-timed options trades, one of the world’s biggest electronic-trading firms alleged in a lawsuit.
Two units of Susquehanna International Group filed the lawsuit in federal court in New York on Monday, naming up to 100 “John Does” as the defendants.
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Coforge shares surged around 5%, while Infosys, Mphasis, HCL Tech and Persistent Systems gained about 4% each. LTI Mindtree and TCS advanced nearly 3% apiece, while Tech Mahindra and Oracle Financial Services rose around 2%. Wipro added nearly 1% in early trade.
The Nifty IT index climbed nearly 940 points, or about 4%, to 26,710. The rebound follows a nearly 7% decline over the previous four sessions, during which the index had fallen to a fresh 52-week low of 25,699 on Wednesday.
Why are IT stocks rising today?
US Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh said inflation expectations and risks have eased in recent weeks. He added that he would stick firmly to the US central bank’s 2% inflation target and disappoint anyone expecting a looser monetary policy stance.”If people thought this central bank was going to be comfortable with an inflation objective above 2%, they would be disappointed,” Warsh told a European Central Bank panel in Sintra, Portugal. “We have been an independent central bank for a long time. We are going to be an independent central bank at this moment, and you will see no changes on that.”
His comments come as global investors remain concerned about the possibility of multiple rate hikes by the US central bank following its hawkish tone at the last policy meeting. In the first FOMC meeting under Warsh’s tenure, the Fed acknowledged that inflation remained “elevated relative to the Committee’s 2% goal”, attributing it in part to supply shocks that had driven price increases in certain sectors, including energy.
Also read: US Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh says he will stick by 2% inflation target, vows to bring in real-time economic data for making interest rate decisions
IT companies derive a significant portion of their revenue from the North American market. Rate hikes or a spike in inflation in the US can weigh on discretionary spending, which, in turn, may affect the sector’s growth prospects.Today’s rally in IT stocks came after Warsh’s comments offered some relief to investors. Traders are now pricing in roughly a 64% probability of a rate hike in September, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
Nomura expects IT firms to see ‘anaemic’ growth in FY27
While Nomura believes the long-term addressable market for Indian IT companies will continue to expand, it expects near-term growth to remain anaemic. In its latest note, the brokerage said Indian IT services firms, especially large-cap players, are facing a “perfect storm of two key headwinds”.
The first is macro uncertainty stemming from geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the outlook for interest rates, particularly in the US, which is keeping client spending subdued at the margin.
Nomura also noted that when clients’ technology spending is not growing, competition among IT services companies intensifies, with the economic gains from AI being passed on to customers. With firms such as Accenture indicating that the impact of the conflict on growth could persist in the near term, the brokerage expects FY27 to remain another subdued year for the sector.
The international brokerage expects the upcoming earnings season to be subdued for IT companies, with most large-cap players likely to report weak quarterly growth. It expects Wipro to post the weakest performance, with revenue declining 1.3%, while Tech Mahindra is projected to lead the pack with 1% growth.
“We expect mid-caps, in general, to continue posting stronger growth than large caps. We do not expect any changes to the annual guidance from Infosys and HCL Tech, and expect Wipro to guide for -1% to +1% revenue growth in Q2 FY27,” it added.
Nomura has lowered its revenue growth estimates by 100-200 basis points for FY27 and FY28.
(With inputs from agencies)
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions expressed by experts are their own and do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
SoftBank’s LY, Bain raise Kakaku bid again with $4.1 billion valuation
U.S. stocks are set to close out a blockbuster quarter with fresh momentum.
Major indexes are marching toward their best quarterly gains in years. The S&P 500 was up 14% through Monday, and the Nasdaq had jumped 20%-the biggest quarterly rallies for both since the second quarter of 2020.
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Business
From deep correction to fresh peaks: 10 stocks soar from 52-week lows to new highs in just three months
Pidilite Industries, makers of Fevicol and FeviQuick adhesives, hit a 52-week high of ₹1,620 on June 25 from a low of ₹1,259.5 on April 06 driven by a revival in sales volume across retail and industrial markets in the March quarter. It also reported a 300 basis point operating margin expansion to 23% amid lower raw material costs. The stock has clocked a 26% gain so far from the lows hit in April.
AgenciesA REVIVAL MADE IN JUST 3 MONTHS ON THE BACK OF MARCH QUARTER SIZZLE
Tata Communications has gained over 50% from the 52-week low of ₹1,323 hit on April 02 following multiple factors including expectations of growth revival in FY27 aided by improving operating leverage after net profit dropped by 21% past fiscal year, recent fund raising at attractive interest rate to fund short term requirements and positive scenario for enterprise communications demand.
Central Mine Planning & Design Institute (CMPDI), a public sector company that provides consultancy for coal and minerals mining, has undergone a major rerating. The company listed publicly on March 30 at a discount to offer price of ₹172 and sank to a 52-week low ₹150.3 on April 07. A strong fourth quarter performance and attractive valuation catapulted the stock to a peak of ₹267.9 on June 24. It currently trades at around ₹248, gaining 65% from the lows.
Amagi Media, which offers software solutions to global broadcasters and video streaming services, has also gained 65% from the 52-week low level amid expectations of a 15-20% increase in net profit for FY27.
The ‘Barron’s Roundtable’ panel discuss big-box retailers beating competition on value, their innovation and revenue models.
A new Costco warehouse and gas station are one step closer to coming to Downey, California, after city leaders approved a development agreement for the project, though not everyone is convinced the area needs another location.
The Downey City Council recently voted to move forward with plans for the new warehouse on Firestone Boulevard. City officials say the development is expected to create hundreds of jobs and generate new revenue for public services.
Mayor Pro Tem Horacio Ortiz Jr. praised the project in an Instagram post, calling it an investment in the city’s future.
“The Costco project will create hundreds of jobs, generate new revenue for essential city services, and strengthen our city’s future,” Ortiz Jr. wrote.
COSTCO ADDS FROZEN GREEK YOGURT CUPS FROM BRAND CUSTOMERS CALL ‘TOP TIER’
A man pushes a trolley outside a Costco supermarket in Los Angeles, the United States, March 14, 2020. (Xinhua/Qian Weizhong via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The announcement drew mixed reactions from residents, with several questioning why another Costco is needed when warehouses already operate in nearby cities of Norwalk and Lakewood.
“Do y’all really need a Costco when the one at Norwalk is a 15 minute drive away?” one commenter wrote.
Another added, “We want a Trader Joe’s not another Costco.”
Others welcomed the project, arguing nearby Costco locations are often overcrowded and difficult to navigate.
COSTCO SHOPPERS STOCK UP ON CULT-FAVORITE COOKIES AS DEMAND SURGES NATIONWIDE
A Costco store in Vallejo, California, on Thursday, May 29, 2025. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg / Getty Images)
“The Norwalk Costco has been a nightmare since they redid the parking lot,” another resident wrote. “Happy to welcome one to Downey.”
According to local reports, the project includes relocating the existing Downey Nissan dealership before construction begins on the new Costco. The warehouse and gas station would be built on roughly 13.6 acres that include the former All American Home Center site and the current dealership property.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COST | COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP. | 924.67 | -10.80 | -1.15% |
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The redevelopment package is expected to cost about $10.5 million and involves Costco Wholesale Corp., Downey Nissan and the owners of the surrounding properties.
The retailer still faces several steps before construction can begin. The project must complete a California Environmental Quality Act review and the city’s entitlement process, which officials expect to take up to a year. Construction of the relocated dealership and the new Costco warehouse would follow, putting the store’s opening several years away.
Business
Exclusive-Japan shifts to ambush intervention tactics against yen short sellers, sources say
Exclusive-Japan shifts to ambush intervention tactics against yen short sellers, sources say
In the Nifty 500 pack, 15 stocks saw their closing prices cross above their 200-day moving average (DMA) on July 1, 2026. Of these, we have highlighted the top 9 stocks that gained more than 3% in the previous trading session, according to StockEdge.com’s technical scan data. Traders use the 200-day daily moving average (DMA) as a key indicator to determine the overall trend in a particular stock. As long as the stock is priced above the 200-day SMA on the daily timeframe, it is generally considered to be in an overall uptrend. Take a look:
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