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Erin Burnett Outfront
FBI: Ransom Note In Guthrie Case Has Deadline Of 5PM Today; Sheriff: Camera Missing From Guthrie's Home; Emails Reveal New Details About Bill Gates' Ties To Epstein. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired February 05, 2026 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:26]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
Breaking news in the search for Nancy Guthrie. New details tonight on the ransom note that officials are now investigating. TMZ's Harvey Levin, who received that note, is our guest, as the sheriff says Savannah Guthrie's mother is, quote, "still out there and alive".
Plus, chilling new information about the night Guthrie was abducted. The sheriff revealing to CNN the doorbell camera is now missing. And that's not all he is saying in this new interview.
And Bill Gates' relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Our KFILE on the case, uncovering more about their friendship than previously known.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
(MUSIC)
BURNETT: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
And OUTFRONT tonight, we begin with the breaking news. Quote, "Nancy is still out there". That is the direct quote from the sheriff investigating the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie's mother. He says he believes that Guthrie is still alive, even as investigators from every single agency you can think of are battling this up against a possible deadline.
According to the FBI, the ransom notes for Nancy Guthrie included two deadlines. One of them is right now, it's 5:00 p.m. today, which would be 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEITH JANKE, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, FBI: So, the ransom note that was distributed to the media did make a demand for 5:00 p.m. today. And if -- if a transfer wasn't made, then I think a second demand was for next Monday. We're not going to go beyond that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And when he says they're not going to go beyond that, they did not specify exactly what the ransom note writer said would happen if the demands were not met.
But we are learning more about what is in these notes. According to the FBI, the ransom notes did not include proof of life, and they had no way to contact the sender. They did mention, though, a floodlight in Guthrie's yard and her Apple Watch. And we also know that the payment they demanded was in bitcoin.
And in an emotional video, Savannah Guthrie and her siblings are begging their mother's captor to come forward.
(BGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, NBC "TODAY SHOW" HOST: 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. Please reach out to us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Savannah's words coming as we are getting chilling new details tonight about her mother's disappearance. The sheriff revealing that the blood found on the front steps of Guthrie's home does belong to the 84-year-old, and there are now even more resources joining the extraordinary force on the ground, already.
The Tucson sector border patrol, search, trauma and rescue team has now joined the search for Guthrie as well. We have a lot to get to tonight, including TMZ's Harvey Levin, who as I mentioned, received one of those ransom letters. We're going to be talking to him in just a moment.
I want to begin on begin on the ground in Tucson, though, with our Ed Lavandera.
Ed, I know you just spoke to the sheriff. So, in your conversation and as you've seen him day in and day out, really hour after hour, what stands out to you right now most as we are now just a few minutes past this deadline?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, two things the sheriff insisted he is still operating under the assumption that Nancy Guthrie is not just out there, but out there alive. However, we are now five days into this investigation. I asked him if there -- how little evidence there is or how little a few tips that are coming in, he said they've gotten more than 100 tips over the course of this week, but despite that, still nothing concrete enough that would lead them to where Nancy Guthrie is.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The Pima County sheriff revealed key details in the investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, including evidence that showed blood found on her front porch matches the 84-year-old mother and grandmother. Investigators also laid out a timeline of her disappearance, according to her family and data from digital devices, including multiple cameras in the Guthrie's home and a front door camera that is missing. On Saturday, at 5:32 p.m., Nancy traveled to visit her family in an
Uber. At 9:48 p.m., Nancy is dropped off at home by a family member, and then at 9:50 p.m., Nancy's garage door closes.
On Sunday, at 1:47 a.m., the doorbell camera disconnects. At 2:12 a.m., the sheriff says software detects a person on camera. Then, at 2:28 a.m., her pacemaker disconnects from the app on her phone.
After receiving a call that morning at 11:56 a.m., the family checks on her home and finds that Nancy is missing.
[19:05:06]
At 12:03, the family called 911.
The sheriff says the female Uber driver has been cleared in the case.
SHERIFF CHRIS NANOS, PIMA COUNTY, AZ: The Uber car itself has a video of her, so we knew that it was in fact, Nancy and what she had on and what she was wearing. All those things.
LAVANDERA: We are five days into this. Are we any closer to finding Nancy Guthrie?
NANOS: I would say we are. People are always asking, do I believe she's alive? Absolutely. That, I hope, keeps us motivated. Because we do know the dangers of each passing day.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The FBI announced a $50,000 reward, but investigators say there are no suspects yet. FBI agents were on scene at Guthrie's home late Wednesday, conducting an additional search of the crime scene using detection dogs and taking bags of evidence.
At the same time, Savannah Guthrie, along with her sister and brother, posted a heartbreaking video painting a loving picture of their mother.
S. GUTHRIE: She is full of kindness and knowledge. Talk to her and you'll see.
ANNIE GUTHRIE, NANCY GUTHRIE'S DAUGHTER: She chooses joy day after day, despite having already passed through great trials of pain and grief.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Officials say there is no evidence that reported ransom notes are legitimate, though they are still investigating, including one sent to media outlets that set today as a deadline for payment.
HEITH JANKE, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: It was 5:00 today, and then it had a second, second deadline after that. So, we are continuing -- in a normal kidnapping case, there would be contact by now.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The sheriff, meanwhile, says they're following the evidence to bring Nancy home again.
NANOS: Every day we're working. Something -- we're like everybody else. We're waiting for that one big break.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA (on camera): So investigators here say they are continuing. They think that eventually there will be one tip that comes in that leads them to where they need to get. In the meantime, they can -- they say they have conducted a number of interviews, and the sheriff insists that the family members of Nancy Guthrie have all been cooperative throughout this entire process -- Erin.
BURNETT: Ed Lavandera, thank you very much, on the ground in Tucson for us again tonight.
And I want to go, as promised now to Harvey Levin, the founder of TMZ, which, as I mentioned, received a ransom note for Nancy Guthrie.
And, Harvey, look, I'm really grateful to be talking to you. And, you know, you heard officials there say that there was that 5:00 p.m. deadline, which, of course, would be about seven minutes ago. So were past that, you know, I mean, without revealing anything that could jeopardize the situation, since you have seen, the ransom note here, what are you able to say about the deadlines that he referred to in the letter?
HARVEY LEVIN, TMZ FOUNDER: So I need to be careful just because, you know, if the FBI is saying they don't want to reveal more, I shouldn't, I will say this, that there was this deadline at 5:00 today, and the -- I'm trying to pick my words carefully here. There is a change -- there is a change in what the -- if this really is a kidnapper -- what that kidnapper may want. The Monday deadline is far more consequential.
BURNETT: All right. And I'll let people read into that what they will. But I think that that says it all.
Look, Harvey, you get tips on everything, okay? You're TMZ, so you have tips coming in all the time. So, when this one came in, and as you look at it now, was there anything about how it came in or anything about it? This letter, this ransom letter that was unusual to you?
LEVIN: It felt like somebody means business. I mean, when you read it, it's very detailed. This person thought through, I believe -- again, if it's legit, this person thought through the markers of showing that it's real. The bitcoin address we checked immediately, and it's a real address.
The FBI mentioned at the news conference today something that we had seen where they mentioned the Apple Watch and the floodlight. And that was what really put my antenna up, and we immediately called the sheriff, to -- because that's what we could say to him, which is, you know, here are these two items they're mentioning. Does this make you interested in it?
I will say this, that they do mention an Apple Watch, as the FBI said, and they do mention the floodlight, the damaged floodlight. There is something else. And it is the placement of the Apple Watch which has not come out.
[19:10:00]
And if that placement is accurate, I'm sure that is something that puts this letter on the FBI's radar.
BURNETT: Oh, okay. So you're saying not just that there was an Apple Watch, which I am aware, you know, was in that letter before any reporting, when you got the letter before any reporting on the Apple Watch came out, right? So, it wasn't as if they saw the reporting and put it in there. But you're saying it talked about a specific location.
So, if that turns out to be accurate, obviously, that says a lot.
LEVIN: Right.
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: Harvey, as you and I are sitting here -- yeah?
LEVIN: And, Erin -- and that's -- look, we called the sheriff immediately and gave them the letter. And then a couple hours later, we got a call from the FBI. And they had a lot of questions about this. And I think that placement of the Apple Watch, if this is true is something where they would immediately take this seriously.
BURNETT: All right. Harvey, I don't know if you got a alert or anything on this, but I haven't seen it and you haven't seen it. I don't believe just was posted on Instagram by Savannah. Another video with her and her brother. I understand, so let's just both watch it here for the first time. Just her. Let me -- let me play it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
C. GUTHRIE: This is Camron Guthrie. I'm speaking for the Guthrie family. Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We haven't heard anything directly. We need you to reach out. And we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward.
But first, we have to know that you have our mom. We want to talk to you, and we are waiting for contact.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So that was her brother, Harvey, Savannah's brother. She just posted that, Camron, her brother.
All right. So, Harvey, what he just said there --
LEVIN: I can give you -- I can give you some context.
BURNETT: Yeah. Go ahead.
LEVIN: So they are pleading for this person to come forward. If it indeed -- indeed is the person behind this letter. The letter says you will have no way of contacting me. This is the only contact.
So that's why they're pleading for proof of life. That's why they are begging because they have no idea how to get in touch with this person. They went to great lengths in sending this email to us, in making sure that it stays anonymous.
I don't know that the FBI, is at all close to figuring out where it came from. My guess is they haven't, based on what our I.T. team has done here.
So, I don't think they know who sent it. And the person who sent it says, this is going to be the only contact. And you have no way of getting in touch with me. So, they made that clear. That's why I believe that they are begging for this, because they have absolutely no avenue to make contact.
BURNETT: All right. So -- but that's really crucial what you just said, Harvey, you're saying in the letter it says this will be the only contact. And it sounds like from what Camron is saying, which echoes what they said last night, which is they haven't had contact, we have heard from no one is what he says, as Savannah had said, and we want a proof of life. I mean, they're asking for the very basic proof that you have our mother and that she's alive.
But it sounds like from what he's saying, Harvey, is it that that if this letter is legitimate and, you know, I know were going to keep saying that it's important to say it, but if so, it means that the sender is doing exactly what they said they were going to do. They sent the letter and that's it.
LEVIN: They began the letter. I don't think I'm giving anything away here. They began the letter by saying that, that Nancy is okay, but scared. So, they say she is okay. And also, that she's aware of the letter and the demands.
BURNETT: That Nancy Guthrie herself is aware of it.
LEVIN: Yes.
BURNETT: So, so, Harvey, then what -- what else are you hearing at this at this point? I mean, given write that letter was sent to you. I mean, have you -- have you heard anything else? What else are you learning?
LEVIN: So there's something in the letter -- and, Erin, I just want to make this really clear that this is just my opinion, just based on analyzing it, that my sense and Charles, in my office, we've talked about this at length today, my sense is this is -- whoever sent this letter is based in the Tucson area. And I say that because of a reference made in the letter, a sentence in the letter, it feels to me reading it that this is Tucson based and I think that's a fair analysis based on, you know, my discussions today in the office and just reading this letter.
So, this doesn't feel like this is somebody out of state or out of the country who hatched this plan. It feels more localized. And I'll underscore that by saying that the other outlet that received this letter is a local outlet in Tucson. And think about that. You know, why would they do that? Why would they know that station if they weren't Tucson based?
I think this is something that was hatched by somebody in that area, based on the read of this letter.
BURNETT: All right, Harvey, since you're here, I mean, stay with me because you mentioned that local station, and I happen to have Mary Coleman, who's with KOLD 13, with us now. So let me just bring her in here.
Mary, I know you could hear Harvey talking about this, and I'll play again in just a moment. Camron Guthrie, Savannah's brother, what he just said. But, you know, I wanted to give you a chance to respond to what Harvey just said. He's saying that, you know, because you've seen this this letter as well, that he felt from something in it that made him think that the person who wrote it is in the Tucson area, knows the Tucson area.
Obviously, you live there. This is your home. Do you -- do you also share that view?
MARY COLEMAN, KOLD 13 ANCHOR: I understand what he's saying. After reading the letter over and over again about referencing the fact that it may be someone local, it certainly can. But, you know, aside from a couple of words in the letter, I don't know. You know, I don't want to speculate that it's not someone from outside either.
So, really, you know, there are a lot of questions remaining, but I can definitely see how Harvey would think that it might be someone here locally in the Tucson area who might be responsible for this.
BURNETT: So, Mary, you know, Harvey was talking about the deadlines, and the second one being obviously incredibly consequential. Weve just passed the first deadline a few moments ago. Has your newsroom just in the past few moments, to your knowledge, received any additional message or follow up communication at all, Mary, since -- in these last minutes.
COLEMAN: Yeah, I've been refreshing my email constantly, Erin, to try and see if we've received anything. I have, you know, my email open right here and we haven't received anything just yet. But you know, all eyes are on our inboxes, as I'm sure the newsroom that Harvey runs also are there doing that and nothing so far.
BURNETT: Harvey, when the FBI reached out to you and you said they did within a couple of hours of your telling the sheriff about the ransom note after you received it, what -- can you share anything, you know, about what they were they were most interested in, or sort of the questions they were asking or anything that might have been telling to you?
LEVIN: Yeah, I gave them my word. I wouldn't discuss the substance of the conversation, but as you can imagine, I mean, the obvious thing they want to figure out is who wrote it, where did it come from? And I don't want to get more specific than that because I told him I wouldn't.
BURNETT: Right. All right. Well, that's important, and I respect that as well.
Mary, you know, from where you sit right now, what is the very latest you're hearing? I know that the sheriff is saying that they still believe that Nancy Guthrie is alive and that and that that would appear to have not have been one of the consequences of the deadline here that we have just passed a few moments ago. But what is the very latest that you're learning just about the search itself and whether they have made any progress? Because I know so many people, when they hear this, they say with the extraordinary amount of national resources that have been put against this, it's hard for people to imagine that there truly can be no suspects.
COLEMAN: Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah. Nothing new at this hour aside from the video that you played there. But as far as the search goes, nothing new. There's still a lot of law enforcement presence out at all scenes and they're working to try and get what they can.
As you know, you all mentioned earlier we learned a couple of new details from the press conference this morning, including that the blood that was found on the doorstep, they did confirm to be that of Nancy Guthrie. And I think that that's also very concerning to a lot of people. You know, the sheriff is saying he believes that she's okay. And as Harvey said, that the captors say she's okay. But when you also confirm that her blood was found at the doorstep, there are numerous things that are very concerning about the entire situation.
BURNETT: Yeah. At point -- at this point, according to the Camron Guthrie, they have heard nothing else other than that letter. That's what he says.
Mary, Harvey, I'm very grateful to both of you. And thank you so much for sharing everything that you can. Of course, within the -- within the constraints of what the FBI had told you. So, thank you both so much.
John Miller is with me, along with Wally Zeins, who's former commanding officer of the NYPD hostage negotiating team. David Kennedy is also here, former NSA hacker and cybersecurity expert.
All right. Let me just play again what we just heard from -- and you heard Mary and Harvey, but what we just heard from Savannah's brother Camron, which he just posted. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAMRON GUTHRIE: This is Camron Guthrie. I'm speaking for the Guthrie family.
Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We haven't heard anything directly. We need you to reach out. And we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward.
But first, we have to know that you have our mom. We want to talk to you, and we are waiting for contact.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: This -- so, Wally. What? What does that mean? In the context of what Harvey levin just said, which is that the letter itself said, we have your mother.
[19:20:03]
She's okay, but scared. And this will be the only contact.
It sounds like, from what he's saying, that that has been the only contact.
WALLACE ZEINS, FORMER NYPD HOSTAGE NEGOTIATOR AND HOMICIDE DETECTIVE: You need two to tango. You can't just sit there and curl your thumbs and wait for someone to call you. You have to have a conversation, a dialogue. You have to develop that.
And he's not getting it. It's just going through an internet letter that's going to them. And if you're going to do any type of negotiating, you have to have the other person on the other side of the of the coin. You need to have to start the negotiations by having some sort of, listening, trusting, developing that conversation that's so important.
They're getting nothing. They even had a I believe there was a drop site was reported for a drop for money, but there's no place, there's no conversation.
The most important thing is they want to know that their mother is alive. They want some sort of indication that the mother is okay, or they want to physically see her and they're getting nothing in that respect.
BURNETT: I mean, it is pretty incredible when you think about it, John. People say given -- you hear the Tsarnaev brothers, these stories, right, when you put the weight of American law enforcement, they find people.
JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: The Tsarnaev brothers, the Brown University shooter.
BURNETT: Right.
MILLER: You know, all of these cases where they start out with nothing but the combination of technology and shoe leather and crowdsourcing to the public. You know, if you look at any of these recent cases, those are the three things that brought it together. The challenge here is, you know, with elderly kidnappings, statistically, we know that usually it's someone with a connection to the victim, a former employee, somebody who knew the house, somebody who had information. And usually, the motive is money.
So here you have somebody who's not going direct to the victims, but going through the media as a communicator who's probably using and our NSA colleague will flesh this out using encrypted emails, whether it's Tor or Proton, something that can't be traced and asking for money to go through crypto channels, which if you're trying to follow that money, is most often a dead end.
BURNETT: I mean, it's -- and as Harvey Levin said, the address, David Kennedy, that was given for the bitcoin is a real address. But you know what he said is it seems from where we are now that the FBI doesn't yet know where this email address came from. I mean, is it really possible in this day and age, David, when we hear about how absolutely everything you do is hackable, that they might really not be able to figure this out?
DAVID KENNEDY, CYBERSECURITY EXPERT: There's a lot of solutions online that are very focused on privacy and ensuring the anonymity of an individual. And bitcoin is, you know, a very, very similar to that, very hard to track, you know, where it's actually going to. The FBI has teams that that can allocate and look at the wallets and where the data is actually going to. But yes, you can use heavily encrypted anonymous sources. You know, as the -- you know, it was mentioned earlier using something like the onion router or Tor, which is also referred to as a Dark Web, allows you to facilitate communications in encrypted stance. That's very difficult for law enforcement to actually get through and actually understand.
And that's really what law enforcement has to go through, to go through a good amount of data, a lot amount of information from cameras, you know, residential areas, traffic cameras, cell phone records you know, any technology that can be used in this situation and piece it all together. And they are leveraging artificial intelligence to speed this up and things they can do to actually find this faster. But it does take a lot of time to go through copious amounts of data to figure all this out.
BURNETT: You know, John, another thing that is confusing about this, and we know there's two deadlines and the second one is much more consequential than the first. People may read into that what they choose. I'm simply saying, if the goal of this individual is to get all this money and to get away with this, it's interesting that they would set deadlines that are five and eight or nine days out.
MILLER: Well --
BURNETT: That raises the risk of them being caught, right? And clearly this person is pretty sophisticated in enough ways that they haven't been caught yet, but --
MILLER: So, I mean, they may need -- they may have needed time. So, if you do the timeline, you do the kidnaping in the early morning hours of Sunday. Now, you may want to travel and that travel may be 10 miles, or it may be 100 miles or 200 miles to where you're going to hold this person. You may have set up a particular location, a soundproof, you know, construct in the basement of a house. I mean, you don't know how much prep they did to facilitate this.
So, they gave themselves time up front to get set up. And then they communicated through cutouts. Is that because they tried to communicate directly in those messages were missed and all the traffic. But they got their message through.
The deadline thing is something that they want to do to keep the thing moving. But, you know, within a negotiation, one of the first things you learn is you can talk through the deadlines, as long as you have a reason.
BURNETT: Yes.
MILLER: You know, we're trying to get done.
[19:25:00]
And the reason can be very real, you know, for the amount of money you're asking for, we have to sell things, liquidate things, move things. It can't be done in an hour.
So the deadlines are -- I don't want to say they're not concerning, but they can be managed.
But that requires, as Wally pointed out, you need to be in a two-way conversation. And right now, they're in a one-way conversation.
BURNETT: And why do you think that is, Wally? I mean, and also, I mean, you know, obviously they go to Harvey Levin, right? They go to Mary Coleman, to KOLD, whoever this -- the "they". I'm using "they". It could be a singular person. We don't know -- send the letter.
But what does it say to you that there's no conversation?
ZEINS: They're using the power of the media. You know, a friend of mine once said who was in the media business. He said a 55-gallon drum of ink, meaning the media is a lot more powerful than a nine millimeter gun. They want to get their word out.
They want to show it's like the theater of terror. They're acting to get. There's something they want. There's something they want to have, and they're waiting for the right time to start that communication.
But, you know, the FBI and whatever hostage negotiating group that they're using is prepared. They're already here. The FBI has their tracking teams. They have their negotiator here. They have their profilers here.
BURNETT: Yeah.
ZEINS: It's just a question now of putting together a conversation. And you can't do it on a one person. You have to have two.
BURNETT: Well, every time you have a conversation, it raises the risk of, of course, someone figuring out where you're conversing from.
David Kennedy, let me -- let me just play again. I want to ask you something specific about this. What Savannah Guthrie just posted on Instagram. This video of her brother Camron talking to the cap -- the person who took their mother captive. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAMRON GUTHRIE: This is Camron Guthrie. I'm speaking for the Guthrie family. Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We haven't heard anything directly. We need you to reach out. And we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward.
But first, we have to know that you have our mom. We want to talk to you, and we are waiting for contact.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: David, what do you make of the fact that there has been no contact up to this point, other than that ransom note? Right? Other than that, we understand no contact.
KENNEDY: If you look at the timeline of what actually occurred, I mean, basically 30 minutes or so for them to disable the camera, get access, get them out of there. Get Nancy out of there. And then from there, the lack of communication to the implantable devices.
This is a well-orchestrated type of situation. And then right after that, leveraging encrypted ways of transferring money. So, they already had to have an account already set up for, for this specific type of instance to happen.
You know, it shows a methodical approach that that they knew this house was a target. They were going after this house. They knew that the cameras were there. Whether or not they knew they had a subscription or not, but it was immediately disabled, you know, upon entering the house.
These are all indications that this is a well-executed type of situation that was really well planned out. As John had mentioned. You know, a lot of times these types of situations are somebody that knew him or was a former employee, things like that. And the lack of communication may be a risk type of situation for the captor to not make communication in order to be traced in some way.
It really only takes one mistake or something that the attacker does they didn't think about maybe they didn't use their VPN to get access to their infrastructure to communicate. That trips them up. And they can -- allows the FBI to go in and find them.
BURNETT: That's right. And I guess the hope is that with the time that was given here by the kidnapper, that that will be the time that where a mistake can happen.
Thank you all three very much for being with us again tonight.
And our breaking news coverage continues. I'm going to speak to Savannah Guthrie's longtime friend and former coworker. They work together in Tucson, where Nancy Guthrie would often stop by. She lived a mile away from the station. You'll hear what he wants you to know about savannah and her mother.
Plus, our KFILE just went through a number of emails that Jeffrey Epstein apparently drafted to himself about Bill Gates emails that make graphic allegations about the Microsoft co-founder. The details are coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:33:38]
BURNETT: Breaking news, Savannah Guthrie just posting a powerful new video. This is her brother Camron. He is pleading for the safe return of their 84-year-old mother, Nancy. Let me let you hear him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAMRON GUTHRIE: This is Camron Guthrie. I'm speaking for the Guthrie family. Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We haven't heard anything directly.
We need you to reach out. And we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward. But first, we have to know that you have our mom. We want to talk to you, and we are waiting for contact.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Camron's video follows the heart wrenching video of him, along with Savannah and her sister Annie last night as they pleaded for proof of life of their mother and now, TMZ's Harvey Levin just was on with us. He received that ransom note. He just spoke to us, and he shared a number of new details about what he saw in there.
He said specifically that that note said it is the only contact that the family will get from the kidnapper that this is it, and that they will have no way of getting in touch with me, which of course fits with what you just heard there. That heart wrenching video from Camron.
Harvey also said that the ransom note begin begins by saying that Nancy Guthrie is okay, but scared, and it says that she is both aware of the letter and of its demands.
[19:35:02]
Finally, Harvey said that his gut feeling is that whoever sent the letter is based in Tucson because of a reference explicitly made in the letter in one sentence. And I want to go to somebody who knows Savannah and the family from Tucson, Danny Herndon.
Danny was Savannah Guthrie's longtime friend, former coworker. They shared an anchor desk in Tucson. And I know that you met Nancy Guthrie on a couple of occasions, and you're now an anchor in North Carolina at WGHP.
So, I'm grateful for your coming in and talking about Nancy and Savannah.
Danny, when you hear though, savannahs brother, you know, pleading, pleading and saying, we just have heard absolutely nothing. It's five days. They've heard absolutely nothing. They got that letter that Harvey Levin got and that's it.
I mean, gosh, what goes through your mind?
DANNY HAMDEN, WORKED WITH SAVANNAH GUTHRIE IN TUCSON, AZ; ANCHOR, WGHP: They're just. So, we're -- they're so frustrated. We're all so frustrated. They just want answers. They want this to move in the right direction.
And the video from yesterday, so gut wrenching to see Savannah like that, because we all know Savannah from "Today Show" and she's just so bubbly. And just to see her like that is so -- it just crushes your spirit. And interesting -- you know, words have meanings. And last night we heard Savannah say, mommy, and it doesn't matter how old we get there, there's still our mommy, you know, and we're still their kids.
And I just -- I met Nancy a few times at Savannah's going away party way back in the day, and I just knew how proud she was of Savannah just because think about it -- in her hometown, hometown, she got to, you know, Savannah went to school, came back, she went to school in their hometown. And the mom got to see her flipping on the TV every single day.
And "Today Show", Court TV, NBC, to be able to see your daughter at work every single day is something special for mom. And I could tell that when I -- when I spoke with Nancy that, you know, she was proud of all of her, but just to be able to see savannah every day on tv was cool.
BURNETT: You know, when you think about that and you've known Savannah for so, so long, Danny you know, KVOA was where you worked together in Tucson and you shared a photo with us of you and Savannah, so everyone can see her then. And the whole station team, right?
And I know you mentioned that you met Nancy at the goodbye party, but she would stop in. I know she basically lived, what, a mile away?
HAMDEN: Yeah.
BURNETT: You know, it's really special to see.
HAMDEN: Just a mile down the road.
BURNETT: You know, how close was their was their bond? It does seem to have been something really quite extraordinary.
HAMDEN: Yeah. And also, if you think about it, Savannah lost her dad, Nancy lost her husband in a surprising way when Savannah was either a junior or senior in high school. So, there was that was definitely the bond there to lose your dad for Savannah was just really, really tough.
She's been through a lot of tough stuff, and it just seems like over the years, we've seen that Savannah has what her mom has, the perseverance to get through hard times, the joy, the spirit, the bubbly nature, the smile, the faith in God that that they both share as well. Great mother-daughter story there.
BURNETT: You know, I know that you, when you lived in Tucson, you were very familiar with this area. I mean, the station, as you said, was a mile away from where Nancy lives now. And, you know, so you were there all the time.
I think you called the neighborhood your favorite place on earth, and you still go back and visit every year. So, you know, are you surprised that something like this could happen there? I mean, it is just so stunning that something like this happened there. But to you, this is palpable. You know, the streets, you know the houses.
HAMDEN: Uh-huh. Yeah. I lived there 15 years and probably about two or three miles from where Nancy Guthrie lives. And my brother lives just a mile from where Nancy lives. Right now, I go back to visit him once or twice a year, and just -- it's just the most beautiful place, I think, in my heart that just that I've ever been to the where Nancy lives, it kind of overlooks the city.
You can even see the University of Arizona down the hill. It's just a beautiful place. And for this to happen there and for three miles down the road, Erin, on the same street, Gabby Giffords was shot back in 2011. I mean, at the Safeway grocery store just a couple of miles from Nancy Guthrie's house. This stuff just happen in Tucson is just incredibly heartbreaking.
BURNETT: It is. Gosh. Well, Danny, thank you for talking about them and for sharing those pictures. You know, seeing Savannah holding at that time, your young child is really it is really lovely to see, you know, and to hope that were going to see that that smile again and reuniting again after this, this horrific time. Thank you so much.
HAMDEN: Thank you, Erin.
[19:40:00]
BURNETT: And our breaking news coverage continues. What can investigators in Tucson take from other high-profile kidnappings? We have a special report coming up next.
And our KFILE uncovering text messages from the Epstein files, which appear to show Melinda Gates many years ago, was not okay with Bill Gates' friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Breaking news, our KFILE uncovering new details about Bill Gates' relationship with Jeffrey Epstein following the Justice Department's release of more than three million pages of Epstein- related records. The documents include unsent draft emails, which appear to be written by Epstein, containing graphic and unverified allegations about Gates, claims that Gates strongly denies. They show years of meetings, dinners and emails between the two men beyond what was previously known, all happening after Epstein's 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution of a minor.
[19:45:02]
OUTFRONT now, KFILE's Andrew Kaczynski, who broke all of this reporting and such incredible and important work as everyone in these files needs to be held to account for what they knew or saw or did in any, no matter who they are. So, these unsent draft emails in this particular situation have caught a lot of attention.
What do you know about them?
ANDREW KACZYNSKI, CNN KFILE SENIOR EDITOR: That's right. Well, Erin, these two drafted emails are both dated July 18th, 2013, and they were saved in Jeffrey Epstein's email accounts. They appear to be draft emails from Epstein to itself. It's not clear who authored them, and there's no indication the messages were ever sent, no evidence they were shared with Bill Gates or anyone else.
Now, in those draft emails, Epstein or whoever authored them makes graphic and explicit and unverified allegations about Gates. Within one email, Epstein claimed he helped Bill, quote, get drugs in order to deal with the consequences of sex with Russian girls and set up illicit tryst with married women. The email also references Gates asking Epstein to provide Adderall for bridge tournaments.
One draft email alleges that Gates tearfully asked Epstein to delete messages referencing an STD, writing, "Your request that I provide you antibiotics that you surreptitiously give to Melinda." It also says Gates asked him to delete explicit personal details about his penis. Now, a representative for Gates strongly denied those claims, telling CNN they were, quote, absolutely absurd and absolutely false.
And Gates himself was asked about this by CNN affiliate in Australia. Take a listen to what he said here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL GATES, MICROSOFT COFOUNDER: Apparently, Jeffrey wrote an email to himself. That email was never sent. The email is -- you know, false. So I don't know what his thinking was there. It just reminds me every minute I spent with him, I regret, and I apologize that I did that.
It's factually true that I was only at dinners. You know, I never went to the island. I never met any women. And so, you know, the more that comes out, the more clear it will be, that although the time was a mistake, it had nothing to do with that kind of behavior.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And that's his response. It seems like within the past day or so.
KACZYNSKI: Uh-huh.
BURNETT: Andrew, you dug into both the emails sent between the two. Epstein and gates. And the meetings listed in the Justice Department files. Can you tell us what that showed? KACZYNSKI: Well, what also stands out, Erin, is how much Epstein was
advising Gates on his philanthropic strategy more than previously known. And it appears in at least one of those emails, Gates took Epstein's advice seriously. For instance, an email exchange from August 2014 shows Gates and Epstein discussing Gates approach to philanthropy.
Gates wrote to -- Epstein wrote to Gates, "I am confident that with the right approach, you'll be able to raise at least $100 billion. Every one of hyper wealth is dealing with the same issues. How to give some away. I can see that selling yourself is not your strong point." To which Gates replied, "I agree I should not use slides or even do a presentation. I do think a bit about how surprised I am at how tough doing good philanthropy is, and what really has worked might be interesting to them. I will find a time for us to talk this week".
And those were not the only meetings, according to Epstein's calendars and emails, which we went through. Epstein's email dinner with Gates in December 2010, a possible lunch in February 2011, followed by a dinner in April and October 2011. The records also show a planned meeting in Norway in August 2012, another a week later. Two meetings in February 2013, a possible dinner in September 2013, in which Epstein extended an invite to a Norwegian diplomat.
We also saw a Google calendar reminder for a Sype meeting with Gates in January 2014, a meeting and a phone call in September 2014. And there's also this February 2011 message where Epstein emailed an individual whose name is redacted saying, quote, you and I are invited to Seattle to spend serious time with Bill Gates. And again, Erin, all of this occurring years after his 2008 conviction.
BURNETT: Yeah, years after that, of course. And, you know, as he was a registered sex offender.
KACZYNSKI: Sex offender, already, yeah.
BURNETT: Okay, now, Melinda French Gates and Bill Gates' ex-wife, they're divorced now. She broke her silence this week and she was candid about Epstein in the sense of what that did, that entire thing did to their marriage. And she talked about how she felt seeing her ex-husband as the subject of those draft emails and in all these other mentions of those draft emails that you went through that are, you know, too disgusting to recount.
Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MELINDA FRENCH GATES, BILL GATES' EX-WIFE: Whatever questions remain there of what I don't -- can't even begin to know all of it, those questions are for those people and for even my ex-husband. They need to answer to those things, not me.
I'm able to take my own sadness and look at those young girls and say, my God, how did they -- how did that happen to those girls? Right? And so, for me, it's just sadness. Sadness for -- you know, I've left -- I had -- I left my marriage, I had to leave my marriage.
I wanted to leave my marriage. I had to leave the -- I felt I needed to eventually leave the foundation.
[19:50:1]
For me, I've been able to move on in life, and I hope there's some justice for those now women.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: I mean, that was incredibly powerful. Your reporting suggests that Epstein appeared to be aware of the fact that Melinda Gates was uncomfortable with his relationship with Bill Gates.
KACZYNSKI: Yeah, that's absolutely right, Erin. Remember, to "The Wall Street Journal" previously reported Bill Gates' association with Epstein was a factor in their divorce, and we found a February 2017 text exchange between Epstein and a redacted intermediary who wrote about Gates. He wants to talk to you, but his wife won't let him. That same intermediary wrote to Gates, then that wrote to Epstein that Gates, quote, loves you and says hi, but made clear that Melinda objected to continued contact.
Epstein then suggested Melinda connect with Kathy Ruemmler. That's a former Obama White House counsel and a friend of Epsteins, to reassure Melinda, he said, Bill met my friend Kathy Ruemmler, Obama counsel for five years. She would love to sit with Melinda and give her the other side of Jeffrey -- of Jeffrey Epstein, wrote, adding she is, quote, an arch feminist who is my great defender.
Now, remember, previously told CNN that she never met with Melinda Gates. The redacted individual then replied about this exchange, not sure individuals can influence ones impressions are made, but I will try. I do not know for sure, but I do think do not think he would be unwilling to bring it up with her -- Erin.
BURNETT: Incredible. All of this and all of the context and all of the -- all of the people included.
Thank you very much, Andrew Kaczynski.
And next, a special report on similar high-profile kidnappings to that of Nancy Guthrie and what investigators could be poring over right now from those cases to solve this one.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:56:26]
BURNETT: Breaking news. the Guthrie family, facing a high stakes ransom demand, and the FBI special agent in charge, says that the family's response to the ransom is their decision.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JANKE: We are in communication with the family, and while we advise and recommend from a law enforcement perspective, any action taken on any ransom is ultimately decided by the family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Nancy Guthrie was taken from her home last weekend. The latest high profile abduction in recent years.
And Jason Carroll is OUTFRONT with this special report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two heavily armed men forced their way in.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It ranks as one of the most sensationalized cases in U.S. history. February 1974, Patty Hearst, the 19-year-old granddaughter of publishing titan William Randolph Hearst, is kidnapped in Berkeley, California.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Patty, still screaming, was dragged out to a waiting car.
CARROLL (voice-over): A radical leftist group called the Symbionese Liberation Army used guns to break into her apartment. SLA demanded the prison release of its members and to fund food distribution to the needy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We love you, Patty, and we're all praying for you.
CARROLL (voice-over): The case took a dramatic turn when pictures surfaced showing Hearst, along with SLA members, holding up a bank in San Francisco. The heiress later argued her captors brainwashed her. Hearst was convicted of robbery and served nearly two years of a seven-year sentence before it was commuted by then-President Jimmy Carter.
She later turned to acting.
PATTY HEARST, KIDNAPPING VICTIM: Do not get kidnapped by terrorists if you want to be an actress.
CARROLL (voice-over): February 3rd, 1978, famed fashion designer Calvin Klein's 11-year-old daughter, Marcy, is kidnapped after being lured off a New York city bus on her way to school. Roughly ten hours later, she was released after Klein paid a $100,000 ransom. Klein's former babysitter and two accomplices were arrested.
ALEX PIQUERO, CRIMINOLOGY PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI: There is an intention to obtain money, so that's always the common thread with respect to the majority of kidnapping cases.
CARROLL (voice-over): Money was the motive for kidnapping Frank Sinatra's 19-year-old son, taken from a hotel room in Lake Tahoe in 1963. He was released days after Sinatra paid a $240,000 ransom. The kidnappers captured and convicted.
Perhaps the most infamous case involved famed aviator Charles Lindbergh. His 20-month-old son, kidnapped from their home in new jersey in 1932. Despite a $50,000 ransom, the child's body found some two months later in what was called the crime of the century.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His only slim hope now is for a pardon.
CARROLL (voice-over): The suspect, a carpenter, convicted and executed.
PIQUERO: In one sense, we have a lot fewer kidnapping cases than we did many years ago.
CARROLL (voice-over): Experts say, because there's much more surveillance now versus then. So, it's more risky. But celebrities are still targets.
In 2016, Kim Kardashian was bound, gagged and held at gunpoint during a robbery at a Paris apartment.
KIM KARDASHIAN, REALITY TV STAR: Then he duct-tapes my face. I think, like my mouth to get me to, like, not yell or anything.
CARROLL (voice-over): Her captors made off with millions in jewels before they were caught and convicted, one of them writing a memoir titled "I kidnapped Kim Kardashian".
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: And of course, another noted case, the case involving John Paul Getty III, kidnapped in 1973, held for $17 million. Again, his kidnappers were eventually caught. But again, the common thread here money. But as I mentioned there before, another common thread with all of the cases that I mentioned, eventually all of the suspects and all of those cases were eventually caught.
BURNETT: Right, right. Even if someone pays, they don't stop.
CARROLL: They all pay. And they were all caught.
BURNETT: Yeah. Thank you very much, Jason Carroll.
And thanks so much to all of you for being with us.
"AC360" starts now.
