A third alleged ransom note in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie has now surfaced, this time sent directly to TMZ with a fresh cryptocurrency demand.
According to the outlet, the new letter demands one bitcoin, roughly $66,000, in exchange for information about the “name of the individual involved” in the alleged kidnapping of Savannah Guthrie’s mother.
Highlights
- A third ransom note was sent directly to TMZ, asking for bitcoin in exchange for a lead.
- FBI director Kash Patel recently released footage that shows the kidnapping suspect.
- Former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker openly questioned whether Nancy Guthrie was kidnapped at all.
- Authorities confirmed no proof of life has been credibly authenticated despite multiple ransom communications.
The note reportedly included a working bitcoin address.
“They said they want one bitcoin sent to a bitcoin address that we have confirmed is active,” TMZ host Harvey Levin revealed today (February 11).
“It’s a real bitcoin address, and as they put it, time is more than relevant.”
A third ransom note related to the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie has surfaced amid growing skepticism by law enforcement
Image credits: Nancy Guthrie/Facebook
The letter marks the third purported ransom communication since Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen on January 31 at her $1 million home in Tucson, Arizona.
The new bitcoin demand arrives amid growing skepticism from law enforcement veterans who are openly questioning whether Nancy Guthrie was kidnapped in the first place.
For instance, former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker publicly challenged the central premise of the investigation last Sunday (February 8).
“I’m very skeptical of this,” he said.
Image credits: Savannah Guthrie/Facebook
While federal and local authorities initially treated the case as a possible abduction tied to ransom notes, Swecker argued that key elements do not add up.
“Is this really a kidnapping? Does somebody really have her, and is she really alive?” he asked during an appearance on The Big Weekend Show.
Swecker noted that Savannah Guthrie and her two siblings had made emotional public pleas urging whoever has their mother to return her safely. The family also agreed to pay up to a reported $6 million ransom demanded by the alleged abductors.
Image credits: Savannah Guthrie/Facebook
The sudden escalation in the ransom figure raised red flags as well.
“Remember now, it was 1 million not too long ago. All of a sudden, it’s 6 million,” Swecker said. “If this was a kidnapping, it would be a very simple matter to authenticate and provide proof of life.”
He emphasized that no such proof has been “credibly authenticated at this point,” adding, “You have to allow for the possibility that this was something more or something other than a kidnapping.”
At least two purported ransom messages had already surfaced before the latest bitcoin demand
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Swecker went further, suggesting that whoever is sending the messages may not even be directly involved in Nancy’s disappearance.
“I really think there’s a third party here that’s just playing with them, opportunists who think they can exploit this situation,” he said.
During a February 5 press conference in Tucson, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos revealed that the initial ransom note demanded money in cryptocurrency and warned of consequences if the demands were not met.
“The clock is ticking,” Nanos told reporters, confirming that the first deadline was set for 5 pm Mountain Time.
Newly recovered images show an armed individual at Nancy Guthrie's home
Image credits: FBI Director Kash Patel
FBI Director Kash Patel publicly announced that federal authorities have recovered previously inaccessible footage tied to the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
In a statement released Tuesday (February 10), Patel said the FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department have spent the last eight days working alongside private sector partners to retrieve images and video from Guthrie’s Tucson home that had been lost or rendered inaccessible.
Officials noted that recording devices had been removed, complicating the recovery process.
Image credits: FBI Director Kash Patel
According to Patel, the footage was ultimately reconstructed from residual data located within backend systems.
“As of this morning, law enforcement has uncovered these previously inaccessible new images,” Patel said, describing footage that appears to show an armed individual tampering with the camera positioned at Nancy Guthrie’s front door on the morning she disappeared.
The FBI is urging anyone with information to contact the agency.
Authorities are considering the possibility of opportunists taking advantage of the situation
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What particularly alarmed investigators was the level of detail contained in the first note.
According to Nanos, the writers referenced Nancy’s Apple Watch and a flood light at her home, information not easily accessible to a casual observer.
“It included insider information,” Nanos said.
Despite those specifics, the note failed to include proof of life and offered no method for investigators or the family to contact the sender.
“There would normally be contact by now,” said Heith Janke, the FBI Phoenix Special Agent in Charge. “In a normal kidnapping case there would be contact trying to discuss that.”
Image credits: savannahguthrie/Instagram
As the February 9 deadline passed, discussion surrounding Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance took a darker turn online.
Investigators have already confirmed that Nancy’s critical medication was left behind inside the house.
Authorities have also stressed that she did not suffer from dementia or cognitive decline, making it unlikely she would have voluntarily left without the essential medication she depended on daily.
Image credits: CBS News
“She would not have survived long without her medication,” one commenter wrote.
“RIP Nancy,” another added. “Whatever happened that night caused her to be injured and she probably passed shortly after this break in occurred.”
Several netizens pointed to the tone of Savannah Guthrie’s recent public statements, claiming her wording may indicate that the family has privately accepted the worst.
“The family knows she is not alive and is willing to pay for the return of her body so she may be buried properly,” one reader wrote.
“The elder Mrs. Guthrie is no longer alive,” another claimed. “Savannah wasn’t asking for her mother to be returned as a person anymore, but for her mother’s body to be returned so they can celebrate her life with a proper burial.”
"The case just keeps getting more scary," a netizen wrote.
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