A retired Colorado investigator says recurring grammatical quirks in ransom notes associated with the Nancy Guthrie case could hold the key to getting close to the suspect.
Lisa Miller, a former law enforcement executive at the Colorado Attorney General’s Office that distinctive writing patterns in two ransom letters indicate they were written by the same person, and could help the public recognise the author.
Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie, was allegedly abducted from her Tucson, Arizona home on February 1. Police also retrieved the doorbell camera footage, but no arrests have been made.
Among other consistent oddities that Miller found in the notes are commas used to splice sentences that should be divided by periods instead of being joined by commas. “Once again, you can see it in the second note,” Miller noted. “Such consistency is an indication that the notes were written by one person.”
Other oddities include open compound words such as “heart related” (should be “heart-related”), “smartwatch” written in two parts, and “floodlight” written in two words as well.
‘Idiolect’ May Identify Author
The writer’s idiolect, which is the language style formed on the regional basis, upbringing, and slang, may provide some clue to such odd word usage as “perished” and “buried in nature”.
“Perhaps this personalised language is something they’ve said based on religious upbringing, based on books they’ve read,” Miller speculated. She also noted that both ransom notes contain dollar signs and “USD” while specifying ransom amounts. This serves as a distinctive pattern for identification of the suspect’s identity.
The ransom notes were released in July, hoping someone may recognise the sender’s “unique linguistic style.”
2026-08-18 21:16:00
