Cryptic plea amid crypto demands as deadline approaches in Nancy Guthrie’s purported kidnapping

The purported kidnapper of Savannah Guthrie’s mother Nancy is demanding $US6 million ($8.55m) in bitcoin according to an Arizona TV station.

And drone images have emerged of investigators removing a manhole cover in the backyard of Nancy Guthrie’s house before appearing to leave empty-handed

“Multiple ransom notes have been sent out to the media, including one that was sent to us,” said JJ McKinney from Tucson station KGUN9

“In the letter, the potential kidnappers demanded that the Guthries pay them $6 million before this Monday.”

According to the station, the deadline was set at 5pm Monday local time (11am Tuesday AEDST). Authorities have not verified if the note is legitimate with speculation sender was outside the US.

“If you’re domestic, why would you ever put ‘USD?’ You put six million,” former FBI agent Michael Harrigan told The New York Post.

“Why would you use that if you’re a domestic person? That points to somebody who might be potentially outside the country,” said Mr Harrigan, who oversaw the FBI National Academy.

In a subdued and cryptic new video shared on social media, Nancy’s children addressed the purported kidnapper, pleading for the return of their mother and promising to pay for her release.

Guthrie’s daughter, Savannah, an anchor of the Today show on NBC, posted the 20-second message on her Instagram account as the search for her mother, an 84-year-old resident of Tucson, Arizona, dragged into its eighth day.

“We received your message, and we understand,” Savannah Guthrie said, holding hands with her two older siblings, Annie and Camron, who were sitting beside her. “We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”

Retired FBI agent Lance Leising said the Guthrie family’s latest video was strikingly different from the first, when Guthrie’s children addressed their mother directly and assured her they were trying to bring her home.

“They’re not talking directly to Nancy anymore,” Mr Leising, who worked in the bureau’s Phoenix division for more than two decades, told The New York Times, “They’re talking to the kidnappers but not to Nancy. That concerns me.”

The change in tone and direction is an indication, Mr Leising said, that the family is “concerned she may no longer be alive.” But, he said, there are still so many details unknown. And the latest statement, which sounded to Mr Leising like it was carefully crafted with the FBI’s help, could be interpreted in different ways, he said.

Take the word “celebrate.”

“That could mean celebrate a safe resolution and her return,” Leising said. “Or it could mean a celebration of life, a funeral.”

One reason to be purposefully vague, he added, is that investigators probably are not convinced that the notes are coming from the actual kidnapper. “The possibility that it’s fraudulent and these people don’t have Nancy is still high,” Leising said.

Michael Alcazar, a retired hostage negotiator with the New York Police Department who has been following Guthrie’s case closely, said the statement sounded defeated. It was short, direct and Savannah Guthrie did not read from a script, signs that the family may fear the worst, MR Alcazar said.

“This message wasn’t as careful,” he said.

But there is investigative utility in continuing to correspond with the kidnappers, he said, because every new message is another chance that the perpetrators might inadvertently identify themselves.

“They’re hoping they make a mistake and they can eventually identify where the message is being sent from,” Mr Alcazar

It was not clear what message Savannah Guthrie was referring to, but Friday a local TV station, KOLD, announced that it had received a note from Guthrie’s supposed kidnapper. The station forwarded the message to police, and the FBI said it had agents working to verify its authenticity.

The search for Guthrie has drawn worldwide attention, fuelled by her daughter’s fame and the mysterious circumstances surrounding the case. Authorities have repeatedly said, including Saturday, that they have not identified a suspect or a person of interest, and they have acknowledged that they do not know whether Nancy Guthrie is still alive.

Guthrie was last seen January 31, after a quiet night spent at the nearby home of her older daughter, Annie Guthrie. When Guthrie did not show up for church the next day, a friend called the family, who rushed to Guthrie’s home and found her gone. Her cellphone, wallet, car and medication had been left behind.

with The New York Times