A crucial deadline set by Nancy Guthrie's kidnappers passed without her returning Monday night, and the FBI said it is not aware of any communications between the kidnappers and the Guthrie family and has not identified any suspects in the case.
In a ransom note, the alleged kidnappers gave the Guthries a deadline of 5 p.m. local time to pay them $6 million in bitcoin for the return of the 84-year-old Tucson grandmother. It is unclear if any ransom was paid. Guthrie has been absent for nine days with no evidence that she is taking the medications she needs or evidence from her kidnappers that she is still alive.
As the family's desperation grows, investigators are consulting with artificial intelligence experts to examine the ransom notes and determine the validity and possible origins of the messages, sources told The Times.
The sources who discussed the case with The Times spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.
Guthrie's disappearance, which police initially said was a missing person case, was strange from the beginning and the mystery has only deepened over time. In this case, 21st century technology has added a new dimension.
For decades, FBI profilers and veteran detectives analyzed the grammar and syntax of ransom notes, looking for clues that might reveal someone's educational level or socioeconomic background, among other details.
“With traditionally handwritten and typed notes, you know they're going to be unique to the person who wrote them,” said University of Hawaii Police Chief Andrew Black, who was previously FBI special agent in charge of the Tucson office. “There will be some indicators, whether writing style or grammatical or spelling errors, that can help you identify who created it.”
Now, these messages can be written by AI, removing the writer's voice signature. This, Black said, adds “another layer of complexity” to the investigation.
Adding to the problems of the case, the kidnappers are asking for cryptocurrency, which is much more difficult to trace than the money drops of previous years. The way the kidnappers have been communicating is also out of the ordinary, Black said.
“The methodology of these individuals does not match that of typical kidnappers who hold someone for ransom,” Black said. “They typically establish a direct line of communication… with the victim's family and authorities, and exclude the public and media because they don't want additional attention.”
In this case, ransom demands have gone directly to the media.
A message sent directly to the family was traced back to a Southern California man who was determined not to have been involved in Guthrie's disappearance. The other two messages, one on February 2 and another on Friday, were sent to the media.
Meanwhile, the family has reached a point of desperation and is pleading with the public via social media for help in finding their mother.
“We believe our mom is still out there. We need her help,” Today show host Savannah Guthrie, Nancy's daughter, said in a video on Instagram on Monday. “So I come just to ask you, not only to pray, but no matter where you are, even if you are far from Tucson, if you see something, if you hear something, if there is something that seems strange to you, that you report it to the authorities. We are in an hour of desperation.”
On Saturday, Savannah Guthrie spoke directly to the kidnappers in a cryptic video saying her family would pay for Nancy's return.
“We received your message and we understand it,” Guthrie said in the video, sitting next to her brother and sister. “We beg you now to give us our mother back so we can celebrate with her. This is the only way to have peace. This is very valuable to us and we will pay for it.”
Sources told The Times that the ransom note received on February 2 appeared credible because it included details about a specific damaged property and the location of a fixture in the house that had not been made public.
The letter contained a first deadline of Thursday at 5 p.m. and a second demand with a deadline of Monday, said Heith Janke, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Phoenix division.
Harvey Levin, founder of the celebrity news website TMZ, reviewed one of three identical letters that were sent to media outlets and told CNN on Thursday that “Monday's deadline is much more consequential.” Levin said Thursday night that TMZ had confirmed that the bitcoin address was real.
“They went to great lengths to send us this email to make sure it remained anonymous,” he said. “It's a carefully worded letter and it's not something someone put together in five minutes.”
Concerns about the validity of the ransom note are not unfounded. Last week, after Nancy Guthrie's children posted a tearful video pleading for her safe return, authorities said Derrick Callella of Hawthorne sent an “imposter” ransom message demanding bitcoins from two family members. Investigators linked his phone number to an email address and, later, to his home, according to court records.
As the investigation moves into its second week, authorities have not publicly identified anyone as a person of interest or suspect. Investigators have returned to the home several times to process evidence, and at one point appeared to search inside a septic tank near the property.
Hours before she disappeared, Guthrie had spent the night with her family, gathering for dinner and a game night at her oldest daughter's house. Her son-in-law dropped her off at home shortly after 9:45 p.m. on Saturday, which officials said coincided with the time her garage door opened and closed that night.
About four hours later, at 1:47 a.m., officials said the doorbell camera went offline.
Then, at 2:12 a.m., Guthrie's home security camera software detected a person (or animal) on one of the home's cameras, but Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said authorities have not been able to recover that video and do not know which camera recorded the movement.
About 15 minutes later, at 2:28 a.m., Guthrie's pacemaker app shows a disconnection from the phone, Nanos said. It seems like that was exactly when he left his house, as he left his phone behind.
When Guthrie didn't show up for church on Sunday, his family went to check on him at his house, discovered he was missing and called police, Nanos said.
Authorities said the doorbell camera had been removed and there was blood splatter near the front door.
Although Guthrie is of sound mind, family members have said he has physical ailments that prevent him from walking long distances and uses a pacemaker. The kidnappers have not offered any “proof of life,” officials said last week.
Black said Guthrie's health problems make the investigation even more urgent. He believes the FBI will be able to solve the case given the enormous resources it has devoted to the investigation.
“I think they're going to get to the bottom of this,” he said. “It's just a question of whether they can do it in a timely manner so that we get a positive result and we can return this woman safely.”
