Alleged kidnappers holding Nancy Guthrie are demanding $6 million for her safe return, according to ransom notes sent to multiple media outlets over the weekend.
The 84-year-old grandmother disappeared from her Tucson home on January 31.
Reporter JJ McKinney from Arizona station KGUN9 confirmed his outlet was among three media organizations to receive the purported ransom note.
The letter contained specific financial demands and strict deadlines for payment.
The suspects requested payment in bitcoin and established two separate deadlines.
The first demanded $4 million by 5 p.m. local time last Thursday.
The second warned that crossing the initial deadline would raise the price to $6 million, due by 5 p.m. Monday.
According to KGUN9’s reporting, the note stated Nancy’s life would be at risk if the money failed to arrive by the Monday deadline.
Law enforcement officials have not yet confirmed the authenticity of the ransom communication.
Authorities possess no proof of life or verification that the note’s authors actually have Nancy in their custody. However, the correspondence did include details from inside her residence, lending some credibility to the claims.
With limited leads in the case, investigators have chosen to treat the ransom demand as genuine.
This decision has driven the investigation’s direction over the past several days, reported the New York Post.
The pressure led Nancy’s children to break their silence.
Her daughter, “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie, along with siblings Annie and Camron, released a video statement Saturday indicating their willingness to pay.
“We received your message, and we understand,” Savannah said in the video, her distress evident. “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,” she continued, directly addressing the alleged kidnappers.
Some experts have raised concerns about the ransom note’s legitimacy.
Former FBI agent Michael Harrigan pointed to specific language choices that suggest a potential scam operation.
“If you’re domestic, why would you ever put ‘USD?’ You put 6 million,” Harrigan told the Post.
His observation focused on the currency designation used in the demand.
“Why would you use that if you’re a domestic person? That points to somebody who might be potentially outside the country,” said Harrigan, who previously oversaw the FBI National Academy.
The unusual phrasing “lends the potential for this being a scam,” he explained.
Investigators continued their search efforts Sunday afternoon, entering the eighth day of looking for the missing grandmother.
Officers were observed at Nancy’s property examining a septic tank located behind her house, Resist the Mainstream reported Monday.
Two officers used a long pole to probe the buried tank during the search. They departed without recovering any evidence or items of interest.
Police have not disclosed what specifically prompted the septic tank search or whether that location had been previously examined.
Saturday night brought additional investigative activity at the home of Nancy’s daughter and son-in-law, Annie and Tommaso Cioni.
Police photographed the interior of their Tucson residence, said the Post.
The Cionis were among the final people to see Nancy before her disappearance.
Tommaso Cioni dropped his mother-in-law at her home around 9:45 p.m. on Jan. 31, following dinner together.
Some unconfirmed news reports last week identified Cioni as a potential suspect, though other sources disputed this characterization.
Law enforcement officials have declined to eliminate him from consideration.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos addressed questions about Cioni directly during a press conference last week.
He emphasized the investigation’s comprehensive approach to all individuals connected to Nancy.
“We’re actively looking at everybody we come across in this case, we would be irresponsible if we didn’t talk to everybody,” Nanos stated during the briefing.
“Everybody’s still a suspect in our eyes,” the sheriff added, while noting the family’s cooperation. “The family’s been very cooperative; they’ve done everything we’ve asked of them.”
