LEILA FADEL, HOST:
"Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie is pleading again for more information about her missing mother. Her latest Instagram video seems directed at whoever took Nancy Guthrie.
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SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: So I'm asking you, begging you to do the right thing now. Make the right choice. Help us find her. Tell us where to look for her.
FADEL: It's been almost six months since Nancy Guthrie was reported missing outside Tucson on February 1. Arizona Public Media reporter Katya Mendoza has been covering this case, and she joins me now. Good morning, Katya.
KATYA MENDOZA, BYLINE: Good morning.
FADEL: So describe this video for us.
MENDOZA: Savannah Guthrie is visibly distraught, as she has been in other videos. She's still trying to appeal to whoever the abductor is. She sounds grief-stricken but empathetic. She and her family seem to be saying they just want closure.
FADEL: So what do we know about other communications with or from the kidnappers?
MENDOZA: Details from two ransom notes sent to media outlets a few days after Nancy Guthrie went missing and considered legitimate by investigators were made public on the true crime podcast "Crime Junkie." In the first note, the abductors demanded millions of dollars in bitcoin. The second note claimed Nancy Guthrie died shortly after being taken. The abductors apologized and said that they didn't realize the extent of her health conditions. Those notes were sent a few days after she was reported missing.
It's worth reminding people that the Guthrie investigation is active. A task force of Pima County Sheriff's Department and FBI investigators are still on the case. We asked both agencies about the latest Savannah Guthrie video but have not heard back.
FADEL: What have law enforcement been saying in the past few days?
MENDOZA: FBI director Kash Patel told Fox News, the delay in the FBI's involvement may have resulted in the loss of crucial video evidence from Nancy Guthrie's Nest doorbell camera. Patel had previously accused the Pima County Sheriff's Department of locking out the FBI for four days.
In a statement, the Pima County Sheriff's Department has disputed that claim, saying, quote, "as the sheriff has stated in multiple interviews, our federal partners at the FBI were plugged in the night of her disappearance through our FBI liaison. Reporting otherwise is inaccurate. In addition, a press conference was held on Monday, February 2, in which FBI Phoenix Division Tucson office leadership was present and spoke," end quote.
And there have been concerns about how the sheriff's department has handled the investigation. In the early days, journalists could walk right up to Nancy Guthrie's front door, even though there was dried blood on her front porch.
FADEL: And has the amount of attention that this has gotten nationally affected the investigation?
MENDOZA: Authorities have had to deal with fake ransom notes, such as one from a California man who admitted to sending an impostor note. He pled guilty to two counts of harassment using a telecommunication device. Also three YouTubers who were streaming Nancy Guthrie's neighborhood were also arrested and face public nuisance charges.
The media presence isn't what it used to be, with dozens of journalists and livestreamers following investigators' every move. In fact, Pima County created a no parking zone on streets surrounding Nancy Guthrie's home to help relieve residents of the chaos.
FADEL: That's Katya Mendoza with Arizona Public Media, Katya, thank you.
MENDOZA: Thank you.
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