Only a day had passed when the first ransom note was received about Nancy Guthrie’s disapperance.
“We have your mother, Nancy. She is safe but scared,” the note said.
“She will be held for ransom and once payment is received, she will be released unharmed. … If payment is not received by the last deadline … she will be killed.”
Then, four days later, they received another note.
“Nothing you could have done could have changed the outcome,” the message read.
“We want your family to know this and hope you all can find peace. We are truly sorry.”
Authorities, after keeping the notes under wraps for months, made them public in July to get information about Nancy.
However, forensic linguist Dr. Carole Chaski caught what she described as a strange detail in the notes.
That is bad grammar.
For example, the notes said, “We have your mother,” and “She is safe but scared and “She will be held for ransom.”
According to Chaski, the unusual change in verb tenses from present to future is striking.
In the expert’s reasoning, the captor holding Nancy would normally describe her in the present, not the future.
This unusual shift prompted Chaski to doubt the ransom note’s authenticity.
Meanwhile, Nancy has been missing since Feb 1 from her home near Tucson, Arizona.
