TMZ receives another Nancy Guthrie ransom note, FBI contacts Mexican cops
Another ransom note demanding $6 million in cryptocurrency in exchange for the safe return of Nancy Guthrie was sent to TMZ on Wednesday.
This note, the latest in a series, demanded the money in a cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin, which the previous notes had requested, according to the outlet.
The latest ransom note includes “a highly sophisticated demand” and “graphically describes the consequences if the ransom isn’t paid,” TMZ reported. The outlet said it forwarded the information to the FBI and would not release additional details.
FBI sources also told TMZ they had informed Mexican authorities about Guthrie’s kidnapping and asked them to keep an eye out for the missing 84-year-old mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie.
Nancy Guthrie’s home in Tucson, Ariz., is about 75 miles north of the Mexican border. The feds do not believe she was taken to Mexico in the immediate aftermath of the abduction. Guthrie was last seen on Jan. 31. However, she could have been transported through the border at any time during the 18-day search.
TMZ has become increasingly involved in the case, with another man writing to the outlet claiming to have information about the kidnappers and requesting money in Bitcoin in exchange for the details.
The man’s latest note, sent to TMZ on Monday, read in part, “I know what I saw 5 days ago south of the border and I was told to shut up so I know who he is and that was definitely Nancy with them.”
However, Mexican authorities did not report any leads in the case. No suspects have been identified in the investigation; police said they have ruled out all Guthrie’s immediate family members as suspects.
Savannah Guthrie’s “Today” show colleagues showed their support on Wednesday’s broadcast by donning yellow ribbons and placing yellow flowers throughout the studio at Rockefeller Center.
“So many people are placing yellow flowers near Nancy’s home and all across the city [of Tucson],” Hoda Kotb explained. “We got a suggestion from one of our viewers here, we’re doing the same here.”
She continued: “Yellow roses around Studio 1A, and we’re all wearing ribbons as we send our love to Savannah and her family.”
“This is our missing mom,” Carson Daly told viewers. “And this is a nice symbol.”
Kotb, Daly, Craig Melvin, Jenna Bush Hager, Sheinelle Jones and Al Roker all wore the ribbons during the morning show.
“We all feel like we love them. We’ve taken them in as our own and my heart breaks,” local resident Lynne McCane told the show. “Everyone feels like they are going through it with her. We are with her.”
The best lead so far in the case remains security recordings from Nancy Guthrie’s home, which show a man in a ski mask walking through the residence in the early morning hours of Feb. 1.
The FBI Phoenix office has described this person as “a male, approximately 5’9 – 5’10, with an average build.” He is also wearing a black, 25-liter ‘Ozark Trail Hiker Pack’ backpack in the security video.
Investigators believe the suspect purchased the backpack at Walmart and have been working with the retailer. They also attempted to identify the captor through DNA found on black gloves near the scene and based on the weapon holster he apparently purchased but have had no luck so far.