Cryptocurrency payments are increasingly involved in the rapidly unfolding disappearance case of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of ‘Today’ show host Savannah Guthrie. On Tuesday, there was activity in the Bitcoin account mentioned in a recent ransom note. TMZ and two other local Arizona outlets, KGUN 9 and KOLD, had previously reported receiving a ransom note where the alleged kidnappers demanded Bitcoin in exchange for Nancy Guthrie.
On Wednesday, another note was sent, demanding a Bitcoin payment in return for information about the kidnapper. This new note requested 1 Bitcoin, which is worth approximately $70,000, and cited a valid Bitcoin address.
(Update: Bezalel Eithan Raviv, CEO and founder of Lionsgate Network, a blockchain forensics firm, stated that the payment into the Bitcoin account could yield information about the suspect.)
TMZ and the Pima County Sheriff’s office did not promptly respond to requests for comment. The FBI declined to disclose any new details about the case in a note.
The news outlets have not made the relevant Bitcoin address public. These addresses are composed of a lengthy sequence of numbers and characters and can be viewed on Bitcoin’s public blockchain using explorer tools. Any payment to the alleged kidnapper’s address, as well as the sender’s address, would be visible to anyone.
A Bitcoin address alone does not disclose who controls it, but blockchain forensics companies are usually able to find clues indicating the owner’s location. In numerous cases, the Bitcoin wallet will list transactions linked to a third party, who might have data regarding the owner’s identity.
At present, there is no official confirmation that the Bitcoin wallet in the Guthrie case is linked to the kidnappers, or whether the TMZ communication is genuine.
Authorities still do not have a suspect in the case. They detained a 36-year-old man on Tuesday but released him the following day. The Arizona resident, who only went by the first name Carlos, said after his release that he didn’t know who Nancy Guthrie was and hoped the real suspect would be found.
Surveillance footage shows someone at Nancy Guthrie’s house on the night she disappeared. The footage, released by the FBI, shows that the suspect’s face is covered except for the eyes and mouth, and the person is carrying a backpack.
The search for Nancy Guthrie is now in its eleventh day. On February 1st, her family discovered she was missing and called the police. All indications point to her being taken from her home against her will. A doorbell camera was tampered with, and Guthrie’s blood was found splattered at the home.
A few days after her disappearance, multiple news outlets reported receiving ransom letters requesting Bitcoin. TV anchor Savannah Guthrie said ‘we will pay’ in a release where she appeared with her siblings.