The FBI has arrested the person who sent a fake ransom demand in connection with Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance, it was announced at a press conference Thursday.
FBI Phoenix Special Agent Heiss Janke participated in a press conference Thursday with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department in Arizona to discuss Guthrie’s alleged kidnapping. Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today anchor Savannah Guthrie, was last seen on the night of January 31st.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said at a news conference that no arrests have been made in connection with Guthrie’s disappearance and there are no suspects or persons of interest in the case at this time. Nanos and his team, with assistance from the federal government and FBI, are currently searching for Guthrie since he went missing. She was last seen at her home in Tucson, Arizona, on Saturday, January 31st, but was declared missing after failing to show up for her usual Sunday church service.
TMZ, the news outlet that first reported Guthrie’s disappearance on Tuesday night, received a ransom note on Tuesday demanding millions of dollars in Bitcoin. Law enforcement authorities treat ransom notes seriously, but they also receive fake demands from “scammers.”
“We will investigate and ensure that fraudsters seeking to profit from this situation are held accountable for their actions,” Janke said. The FBI has arrested one person so far and plans to file charges with a magistrate judge, he added.
The deadline for the ransom note TMZ received is Thursday at 5pm, with a more serious deadline reportedly set for Monday.
