TMZ founder Harvey Levin shared details of an alleged ransom note pertaining to the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie’s mom, Nancy Guthrie.
Earlier this week, Levin, 75, received one of two reported ransom notes by email, which he said during a CNN interview on Thursday, February 5, he immediately forwarded to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department in Arizona, who passed it on to the FBI. (Tucson news outlet KOLD News 13 also said it received a ransom note.)
Following an FBI press conference earlier on Thursday, in which investigators confirmed two deadlines mentioned in the alleged ransom note, Levin gave more detail about the letter he received.
“There was a deadline at 5 o’clock today, and there is a change in — if this is a kidnapper — what the kidnapper may want,” Levin told CNN’s Erin Burnett, adding that a second deadline, set for Monday, February 9, “is far more consequential.”
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“It felt like somebody means business. When you read it, it’s very detailed,” he said.
According to Levin, the email began by describing Nancy, 84, as being “OK, but scared” and said the Today show cohost’s mom was “aware of the letter and the demands” made in it.
Levin also said that “the letter says you will have no way of contacting me — this is the only contact.”
“It specifically says there will be no further communication … no negotiation, no communication,” Levin said in another interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Thursday.
Levin said there is a detail in the letter he received that has, as of now, gone unreported, which may give credence to its legitimacy.
During Thursday’s press conference, FBI Phoenix special agent in charge Heith Janke said the ransom note mentioned Nancy’s Apple Watch and a damaged floodlight on her property outside of Tucson.
According to Levin, the letter he received made mention of “the placement of the Apple Watch,” which he noted “has not come out” in the press as yet.
Levin further said that another part of the letter leads him to believe that the person behind the alleged ransom note may be near Tucson.
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“I think there is a radius around Tucson that they kind of disclose in this demand letter,” he said.
Levin shared that TMZ’s I.T. team was unable to trace the email back to its source of origin.
“The letter says, ‘The police will be no help to you,’” he said.
Nancy, 84, was reported missing from her home near Tucson on Sunday, February 1. She was last seen on Saturday, January 31.
Savannah, 54, and her siblings, Annie and Camron Guthrie, pleaded for their mother’s safe return in an emotional Instagram video on Wednesday, February 4.
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“As a family, we are doing everything that we can,” Savannah said. “We are ready to talk. However, we live in a world where voices and images are easily manipulated. We need to know without a doubt that she is alive and that you have her. We want to hear from you, and we are ready to listen. Please, reach out to us.”
Camron made a further appeal in an Instagram video shared by Savannah on Thursday just after the 5 p.m. deadline.
“Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We haven’t heard anything directly,” he said. “We need you to reach out and we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward. But first, we have to know if you have our mom. We want to talk to you and we are waiting for contact.”
The FBI confirmed on Thursday that it had made one arrest in connection with a hoax ransom demand separate from the ransom notes received by TMZ and KOLD News 13.
