In the three weeks since Nancy Guthrie, the mother of “TODAY” host Savannah Guthrie, vanished from her home in the dead of night, prominent media figures have transitioned from merely reporting on the baffling investigation to becoming central figures in the story.
For many outside the Tucson, Ariz. neighborhood where Nancy, 84, was abducted, her daughter was the initial hook. But layered onto Savannah’s celebrity is the general mystery surrounding the chilling case.
Who would target a beloved and vulnerable matriarch? Who’s the masked man seen in the footage from her doorbell camera? Was this a burglary gone wrong or a planned kidnapping? Is violence or ransom money the motive for the crime?
That’s where gossip outlet TMZ and its founder, Harvey Levin, have come into play.
The site has received no less than five notes seeking ransom or a monetary reward amid the search for Nancy, who was last seen at her home on Jan. 31 and reported missing the following day.
Levin regularly speaks directly to the camera in TMZ’s video segments, breaking down the developments of entertainment-adjacent headlines. With the Guthrie case, however, Levin — who also digs into prominent pop culture stories on the podcast he co-hosts with defense attorney Mark Geragos — has been even more front and center.
Levin on Monday discussed the fourth email the outlet received, this one aiming to swap cryptocurrency for information the sender claimed to have on the suspect.
More so, though, Levin took it upon himself to appeal directly to the person who wrote the note, at the very least cautioning them against ensnaring themselves in a federal crime.
“I have something to say to you, and I have already talked to the FBI about this, that if you are not real, you’re committing a crime and you should know that. And this is a serious federal crime,” he said. “I don’t know if you’re real or not, if you’re watching this, but if you are, and I have told the FBI that we’re gonna do this … if you’re worried about getting this money and you really do have this information, send it to us.”
He promised to forward such intel to the feds, so “there’s a record we have that you supplied this information.”
While Levin and his organization may have unwittingly become part of the story, his advice to continue using TMZ as a conduit for communication with authorities further centered the media’s role — not just in reporting the case, but directly influencing law enforcement’s investigation.
On Wednesday, Levin appeared on CNN to discuss a more “chilling” ransom note TMZ received earlier that day, which he said “graphically describe[s] the consequences if they’re not paid.”
Levin said the message “specifically addresses media coverage,” so it’s clear to him that whoever sent it “hear[s] what’s going on, they read what’s going on.”
“The way it works is that the money will automatically go into this account if certain things happen. And it actually involves the media too, in terms of what the media puts out,” Levin said. “It’s a very sophisticated way of doing it where one thing triggers another, triggers another.”
He repeatedly stated the FBI told him “not to be specific” about the exact details laid out in the note.
Given Levin’s self-reported cooperation with authorities, one could surmise his repeated public appearances have been directly approved, if not advised. However, law enforcement’s attitude toward the media’s involvement as a whole has not been entirely congenial.
Online discourse and news reports have proven to be such an issue that Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos clarified in a statement that, contrary to speculation, all of the Guthrie family, including siblings and spouses, had been “cleared as possible suspects” in the first few days of the case.
“I am telling everyone, effective today, you guys need to knock it off,” he said on Monday, addressing unnamed media outlets and online commenters, while emphasizing the Guthrie family members are “victims.”
As the investigation has continued to dominate the news, Savannah Guthrie herself has become a key headline figure, releasing several desperate videos on social media.
On Feb. 4, the beloved broadcaster and her two siblings made a public plea in an effort to negotiate directly with their mother’s captor.
“As a family, we are doing everything that we can. We are ready to talk,” Savannah said. “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.”
Three days later, the siblings said they’d received the kidnapper’s message and “will pay” in exchange for Nancy’s safe return. On Feb. 9, as the family entered “another week of this nightmare,” Savannah begged for the public’s help to bring her mother home.
Last Sunday, she once again tried appealing to the parties responsible by saying, “It’s never too late to do the right thing. … We believe in the essential goodness of every human being.”
Savannah Guthrie is hardly the first reporter to become the subject of headline news.
The still-unidentified Zodiac Killer, who terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1960s, frequently sent threats, demands and ciphers to multiple local papers — namely the San Francisco Chronicle.
Following Paul Avery’s extensive coverage of the case, the serial killer threatened the reporter directly. That prompted Avery and his fellow Chronicle staffers to wear buttons emblazoned with “I Am Not Paul Avery,” as is dramatized in David Fincher’s “Zodiac.”
But whereas Avery’s ties to the Zodiac began with his reporting on the murders, Nancy Guthrie’s case has received such widespread coverage mainly due to Savannah’s fame.
“Lots of missing people don’t get this kind of attention,” attorney and radio host Arthur Aidala told the Daily News. “The president of the United States is working in [Savannah’s] corner.”
The FBI is currently offering up to $100,000 for information leading to Nancy’s location or the arrest and conviction of her abductors. An extra $102,500 is being offered by a private donor and anonymous tip line 88-CRIME.
Tips should be reported to 1-800-CALL-FBI, 88-CRIME, 520-351-4900, or tips.fbi.gov
