Six months after Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her Arizona home, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has delivered a new public message explaining why investigators decided to release two mysterious ransom notes — and why he believes someone outside law enforcement may recognize the person who wrote them.

Nancy, the 84-year-old mother of “TODAY” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, disappeared from her Catalina Foothills home in the early hours of February 1.

Investigators have said evidence from the residence led them to believe she was taken against her will. Despite an extensive investigation involving local authorities and the FBI, Nancy remains missing.

Now, attention has returned to two communications sent to local media shortly after she vanished.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department publicly released redacted versions of the notes on July 31, marking a significant change in an investigation where many details had previously been withheld.

In a newly released video, Nanos explained that detectives believe the writing itself could become an important clue.

The department has pointed to distinctive patterns involving word choice, syntax and phrasing, suggesting that someone who knows or has communicated with the writer may recognize those characteristics.

Nanos said investigators hope seeing the actual language could trigger a memory — perhaps among a relative, friend, coworker or acquaintance of whoever created the messages.

The first note claimed Nancy was being held and demanded millions of dollars in Bitcoin.

A second communication delivered days later made a dramatically different claim, alleging that Nancy had passed away shortly after being taken because of a medical issue and had subsequently been buried somewhere outdoors.

Those statements have not been established as fact.

Authorities have not announced finding Nancy, and the authenticity of the messages — including whether their writer was actually involved in her disappearance — remains a central unanswered question.

That uncertainty has become particularly important following scrutiny of Sheriff Nanos’ earlier public comments.

CBS News reported that Nanos previously said investigators did not have a note saying Nancy had died, despite the sheriff’s department having received the second communication.

Nanos later addressed the issue, explaining that he had been trying to protect the Guthrie family from information investigators could not verify.

He acknowledged that his earlier wording could have been better.

His latest message therefore did more than explain the investigative strategy. It also addressed Nancy’s family directly.

Nanos expressed regret over how some of his previous comments had affected them and emphasized the emotional difficulty of an investigation that has continued without providing the family with definitive answers.

For investigators, however, releasing the notes appears to have produced at least one measurable result.

The Nancy Guthrie Task Force subsequently reported a slight increase in tips from the public.

Every tip is being reviewed and followed up, according to authorities.

That does not mean investigators have identified the writer or confirmed the notes are genuine. But it suggests the decision to expose the communications to millions of potential eyes has generated new information.

The notes contain another reason investigators cannot easily dismiss them.

Reporting has highlighted references to details associated with Nancy’s property, including a white smartwatch and damage to an exterior light. Some of that information had reportedly not been widely known when the communications were sent.

Whether those details demonstrate genuine knowledge of the scene or can be explained another way remains under investigation.

Meanwhile, competing theories about Nancy’s disappearance continue to emerge.

Some experts have questioned whether the ransom communications are authentic at all, while others have noted that specific details contained in them warrant careful examination.

Another theory suggests the incident may not have begun as a planned kidnapping for ransom, but instead could have started as a burglary that unexpectedly escalated.

None of those theories has been established as the definitive explanation.

What investigators do know is that Nancy disappeared, evidence indicated she was taken against her will, and months of investigative work have yet to publicly identify the person responsible.

That is why the language contained in two messages written six months ago has suddenly become so important.

Investigators are no longer asking the public only whether they saw something suspicious around Nancy’s home.

They are asking people to read.

To notice unusual expressions.

To recognize sentence patterns.

And perhaps to realize that the person who wrote those words is someone they already know.

For the Guthrie family, the goal remains unchanged: finding Nancy and learning what happened to her.

For investigators, the hope is that somewhere among the new tips generated by releasing the notes is the detail that finally connects the anonymous writer to the mystery that began inside Nancy Guthrie’s home more than six months ago.

Main Sources: Fox News, CBS News, ABC News, PEOPLE, 12News