Pima Sheriff – Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos says the FBI has seen fake ransom-note claims before and expects the latest one tied to Nancy Guthrie may fall into the same category, while acknowledging the agency is taking the messages seriously.
Chris Nanos didn’t sugarcoat it when asked about the latest ransom-note claim tied to Nancy Guthrie.
Last Friday, TMZ received a new message from a person who claimed to have information about Nancy’s kidnapper. The sender didn’t just allege they knew something—according to the message. they claimed to have a video showing the 84-year-old with her abductors. That video, the person said, is stored on a phone hidden in a secure location. They also said they were ready to expose the criminals for Bitcoin.
TMZ sent the letter to the FBI. There’s still no clear confirmation yet about whether this new note is real or not, but the federal agency is treating it seriously, the way it has with other previous messages.
Nanos’ comments came during an appearance on Arizona radio station KVOI AM 1030’s Buckmaster Show on Friday, where he addressed what he thought about the reporting.
“I think the FBI has done a number of arrests for false or fake ransom notes,” Nanos said. “It’s a shame that that happens, but I think we’re looking at another one of those today with what’s been reported. But we’ll let the FBI do their work.”
He also pointed out that the FBI is handling “all the ransom notes” in the case, adding that, in practice, it may not matter what anyone outside the investigation believes—Nanos isn’t the one deciding what counts as evidence.
His frustration didn’t end there. Nanos said it’s “a shame that these type of events occur,” and then described how public attention can be misused.
“People have great interest, and that’s good because it helps us, but then it gets really gets abused,” he said.
He went on to explain who he believes bears some responsibility for the harm caused when claims are false.
“People who call in fake ransom notes, people who claim [false information] for the sake of media and the family, they get out and disturb, in this case, an entire neighborhood.”
That swipe landed close to what has surrounded the case publicly. Nanos’ comments targeted the kind of chaos that can come from the cameras and hype—particularly the livestreamers who have been camped outside Nancy’s Tucson home, some of whom have even been arrested.
As the investigation continues, one thing stays consistent: the FBI is weighing each new claim, while Nanos is making clear he’s seen enough false notes to be cautious about what the public hears next.
Nancy Guthrie Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos ransom note FBI Tucson KVOI AM 1030 Buckmaster Show TMZ Bitcoin livestreamers arrests