Ransom note sent to Nancy Guthrie's family reportedly featured disturbing detail about 'accidental killing'

A new report has claimed that Nancy Guthrie's death was confirmed by a chilling ransom note sent to the family.

Earlier this year, Nancy, the mother of US TV show host Savannah Guthrie, vanished from her home in the suburbs of Tucson, Arizona.

It was later determined that the 84-year-old was most likely taken against her will, with footage recovered from her doorbell camera showing a masked man outside of her home on the night of 1 February.

Meanwhile, a ransom note was issued to TODAY host Savannah and her two siblings, demanding they deposit $4 million into a Bitcoin wallet in exchange for their mother.

The search for Nancy is ongoing, with a new report from newsletter Air Mail providing new insight into the case, including the claim that a ransom letter sent to the family on 6 February revealed that she had been accidentally killed.

Reports of an accidental death in ransom note

According to the newsletter, a second email sent to TMZ and over local outlets on 6 February contained an 'apology' of sorts for Nancy's death, adding that her body would be returned to the family for an undisclosed fee.

A source went on to tell the outlet that the email had come from the same I.P. address as the original ransom note issued on 2 February and added that the arrival of the note shifted the investigation from a missing person's case to a potential homicide.

The note came two days before Savannah and her siblings shared an emotional video pleading for their mother's return.

"We received your message, and we understand," Savannah said, seated between her siblings Annie and Cameron.

She continued: "We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her.

"This is the only way we will have peace."

It was confirmed at the time by law enforcement that the siblings' video was released in response to the second email, however details regarding Nancy's potential death were not released to the public at the time.

Meanwhile, the newsletter explained that the two messages regarding Nancy's disappearance were part of what law enforcement were referring to as 'the good, the bad and the ugly' as they sought to analyse all correspondence sent.

The 'good' included the initial 2 February note which confirmed that Guthrie was alive, while the second note, suggesting that she had since died, was filed under 'bad'.

A third category of 'ugly' was used to categorise letters which included notes sent from people posing as the kidnapper for financial gain.