Nancy Guthrie Sighting? Anonymous Tipster Demands Huge Bitcoin Ransom For Missing Woman’s Location
An anonymous individual has contacted US media outlets claiming to have seen missing grandmother Nancy Guthrie in Mexico and is demanding 1 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $70,000 (approximately £52,400), in exchange for disclosing her precise location. The claim has not been corroborated by law enforcement and should be treated with caution.
Nancy Guthrie, 84, the mother of ‘Today’ show presenter Savannah Guthrie, was reported missing from her Tucson home on 1 February. Investigators in Pima County believe she was abducted, citing blood evidence found at the property and doorbell camera footage of a masked suspect. The FBI has been involved since early in the investigation and has maintained communication with Mexican authorities given Arizona’s proximity to the border, though no confirmed sighting of Nancy has been established since her disappearance.
Anonymous Bitcoin Demand Over Alleged Sighting
According to reports, the individual claimed to have seen Nancy ‘south of the Mexican border’ and stated they were prepared to disclose her exact location for a fee. The tipster allegedly told reporters they had been instructed to ‘shut up’ by someone who appeared to be with Nancy, and claimed to know the identity of the man she was seen alongside. No name has been made public, and none of those details has been corroborated by police.
Dave Mack, an investigative reporter on ‘Crime Stories’ with Nancy Grace, discussed the claim on Tuesday, 10 March. ‘This is a vague commentary; we don’t know exactly where she was seen or exactly who she was with, but we have an eyewitness claiming that they saw Nancy Guthrie south of the border,’ he told listeners. He added that the informant was ‘very serious about knowing it was Nancy. So we’ve got this positive identification of Nancy Guthrie in Mexico.’ That characterisation rests entirely on the tipster’s account. There are no photographs, videos or documents to support it, and law enforcement has not endorsed the claim.
No Evidence Nancy Guthrie Has Crossed Into Mexico
Both the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI have said there is no physical evidence that Nancy crossed into Mexico. Investigators have searched the area around her home and executed at least one search of a property west of her residence, but neither effort has been publicly linked to the Bitcoin demand.
Digital forensic expert Heather Barnhart, speaking to a legal analysis team following the case, noted that had Nancy left with her phone and hearing aids, a digital trail would likely exist. ‘Her phone will track everything associated with those hearing aids, as they pair through Bluetooth. You can actually use hearing aids as you would AirPods,’ she said. Nancy’s phone, however, was left behind. ‘Her phone is tied to those hearing aids and tied to her pacemaker. The fact that her phone is left behind, I’m sure they’d get a location, and they either did and they’re holding that close to them, or they fell short,’ Barnhart added. Her suggestion that investigators may already hold unreleased location data is her own analysis, not a confirmed fact.
A Targeted Kidnapping and a Family’s Public Plea
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said on Thursday, 12 March, that investigators now believe Nancy’s kidnapping was targeted rather than random. The basis for that conclusion has not been publicly disclosed, and no suspects or persons of interest have been named. The Guthrie family has offered a $1 million (approximately £749,000) reward for information leading to Nancy’s recovery.
The tipster’s claim that Nancy was seen in Mexico five days ago remains unverified. Without physical evidence or endorsement from law enforcement, it cannot be confirmed, and the accompanying demand for cryptocurrency adds further reason for caution.
Originally published on IBTimes UK
