Investigators in the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping case report a rise in tips after the Pima County Sheriff's Office released two ransom notes that contain details only someone present at the 84-year-old's Tucson home would know.

The notes, one demanding millions in cryptocurrency, the other claiming Guthrie died shortly after she was taken, were sent to a local television station and to the family of her daughter, NBC "Today" co-host Savannah Guthrie, in the days immediately following the suspected abduction on February 1. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos made the full text public on July 31, six months into a case that has produced no arrests and no confirmed recovery of Nancy Guthrie.

Angelica Carrillo, the sheriff's office public information officer, told Fox News Digital that the gamble appears to be paying off, at least modestly.

"Nancy Guthrie Task Force investigators have seen a slight increase in tips since the two ransom notes were released last week. All tips have been followed up on."

Authorities are banking on a specific theory: that the writer's word choices, sentence patterns, and syntax will ring familiar to someone in his life. The Pima County Sheriff's Department put it plainly when it released the documents, saying the "distinctive linguistic characteristics may be recognizable to someone who knows or has interacted with the notes' writer."

First note demanded $4 million in Bitcoin, and named details few people knew

The first note, sent February 2 to CBS Tucson affiliate KOLD-TV, was addressed directly to Savannah Guthrie. It claimed Nancy was alive and in the sender's custody.

"Hello [Savannah], We have your mother Nancy. She is safe but scared. She will be held for ransom and once payment is received she will be released unharmed."

The note demanded $4 million in cryptocurrency and promised Guthrie would be released within 12 hours of payment, according to details confirmed across multiple outlets. But what caught investigators' attention was a line buried deeper in the text: "She had a white smart watch on the floor of the foot of her bed and the white flood light in backyard was destroyed."

Retired FBI negotiator Jason Pack said that detail is significant because the watch's location was not public knowledge at the time the note was sent. Fox News Digital learned of the watch detail on the morning of February 3, a day after the note was already in circulation.

"He knew about the watch on the floor, almost nobody did."

Pack also noted that the writer's command of English points in a specific direction. "In my view, two things the language does support: He writes like a native English speaker," Pack said. "The idiom and the small connecting words are all in the right places, and at this length that is hard to fake."

Those observations align with the analysis of the ransom notes' insider details that has fueled public interest in the case for months. Whoever wrote the notes had access to the crime scene, or was fed information by someone who did.

Second note claims Nancy Guthrie died after being taken

Four days later, on February 6, a second note arrived. Authorities say it shares the same "unique linguistic style" as the first. Its content was far grimmer.

"We did not fully grasp the seriousness of her physical condition. We never intended to hurt her, that was not our intention. She perished shortly after she was taken. We believe it was heart related."

The note also claimed that Guthrie "is buried in nature now," as the Washington Examiner reported. Authorities have not confirmed whether Nancy Guthrie is alive or dead. The investigation continues to treat her as a missing person.

Savannah Guthrie responded to the second note directly, pleading with the sender: "We received your message and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay," Just The News reported.

No payment was made. The deadlines set in the ransom demands, including a February 9 deadline referenced in the first note, passed without action. Additional ransom demands totaling up to $6 million in Bitcoin were later sent to multiple media outlets, including KOLD-TV, KGUN, and TMZ.

Doorbell camera footage points to a planned operation

Alongside the ransom notes, investigators released surveillance footage that adds another layer to the case. FBI-recovered doorbell camera footage shows a masked individual with a backpack and what appears to be a holstered weapon attempting to disable the camera at Nancy Guthrie's front door at 1:47 a.m. on February 1, the morning of the suspected abduction.

Separate footage from two different days prior to the abduction shows an unidentified male appearing to surveil the property, suggesting the kidnapping was not impulsive but premeditated.

Bloodstain evidence recovered from the home tells its own story. Paulette Sutton, a bloodstain pattern analysis expert, described the evidence as a "drip trail," National Review reported, "which means it's a continuous source of blood dripping from an object or from a person." Authorities attributed the pattern to a bloody nose suffered by Nancy Guthrie.

FBI Phoenix Division Special Agent in Charge Heath Yonke confirmed the bureau's awareness of the ransom letters early in the investigation: "We are aware of a ransom letter that was sent to the local media and then to national outlets. As with every lead, we are taking it seriously."

Six months, no arrests, and questions about early missteps

The decision to release the notes publicly represents a shift in strategy. For nearly six months, investigators held the contents close. Now they are asking the public to do what forensic analysis has not yet accomplished: identify the writer.

The Pima County Sheriff's Department framed the appeal in direct terms: "It is not too late to come forward."

But the case has been shadowed by questions about the pace and coordination of the early response. The FBI has pointed to a four-day delay by the sheriff's office that may have cost investigators access to critical video evidence in the first hours after the abduction. That gap looms over every subsequent development.

Nancy Guthrie, 84, vanished from her Tucson home on a Saturday night. By the time the first ransom note reached a local TV station the next day, her daughter's family was already in crisis. Five months passed without a single arrest, and Savannah Guthrie has publicly pleaded for answers.

The FBI has since returned to the Tucson area to conduct additional searches. Agents went back to search the neighborhood after monsoon rains reshaped the surrounding desert, potentially exposing evidence that had been buried or displaced.

Tip lines remain open: 1-800-CALL-FBI and 520-88-CRIME for anonymous submissions.

Someone wrote those notes. Someone knew about the watch on the floor before the rest of the world did. Six months is a long time to keep a secret, and the sheriff is betting that the right person is ready to stop keeping it.