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Why didn't Nancy Guthrie's family pay original ransom request? What federal law enforcement said, ‘Would not advise…’
A reporter has revealed what he has learned from federal law enforcement sources about ransom requests amid the search for Nancy Guthrie.
Fox News reporter Max Finn has weighed in on a topic that he says is getting “some renewed interest” amid the search for Nancy Guthrie: why didn’t the missing woman’s family pay the original ransom request? The 84-year-old has been missing for over four months now, with no suspects having been identified in her abduction.
In a post on X, Finn opened up on what Fox has learned amid the investigation.
“A topic that's getting some renewed interest in the Guthrie case is, why didn't the family pay the original ransom request? Did the FBI mis-advise the Guthries?” Finn wrote on X.
Finn cited a federal law enforcement source as telling Fox that the FBI generally does not advise someone to pay a ransom without proof of life, especially when the ransom requests several million dollars.
“The Guthrie family and investigators used their heartbreaking online videos in an effort to prompt the kidnapper(s) to give proof of life or communicate more,” Finn wrote. “Fox is told a small amount of money was deposited into one of the original bitcoin accounts, totaling an estimated few hundred dollars, to do what's called 'tickle the wire.' That money was not withdrawn.”
“There is a warranted and lingering question of whether such a small amount was enough to entice a kidnapper on the other end. Of course, there is also the question of whether the ransom notes and bitcoin accounts are legitimate. The FBI has not publicly ruled them out,” he added.
Finn said that Fox also learned that it was unusual that ransom notes were sent to the media, such as TMZ, and not the FBI and/or Nancy’s family.
“As far as the other letters or demands out there, including some of the most recent, Fox is told that in general federal investigators would not advise a third party civilian to pay a ransom just to see where it goes,” Finn wrote.
Latest update amid the investigation
It has been revealed that a note sent in February to local news outlets about Nancy’s disappearance said died shortly after she was kidnapped. Investigators believe that the note, as well as another earlier note demanding a ransom of millions of dollars, were legitimate communications from whoever abducted the 84-year-old , per CNN.
“The second note said, basically, it wasn’t intended to work this way but in the course of the kidnapping some things happened and Nancy Guthrie is dead,” CNN Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller said on ‘AC360’ Monday night.
“The thing that makes the note significant is it came from the same electronic source as the first note, which demanded the ransom,” he further said, adding the second note had “a very different tone (from) that note the week before.”
Meanwhile, a Mexican search organisation has revealed that it has discovered dozens of unmarked graves after receiving anonymous tips connected to the Nancy Guthrie case. The latest searches did not uncover any evidence linked to Savannah Guthrie’s missing mother, but the findings highlighted ongoing search efforts near the US-Mexico border.
Recently, volunteer search group Buscando Corazones Nogales carried out new searches in areas near Nogales, Sonora, after receiving information linked to Nancy’s disappearance, The Sunday Guardian reported. Search teams examined various locations based on anonymous tips that suggested that Nancy, who is believed to have been abducted from her Tucson home, may have been buried in remote areas south of the US-Mexico border.
However, volunteers did not find any evidence of Nancy's "grave" or her whereabouts.
