The ransom note in Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance proves the perpetrator of the shocking kidnapping is likely a veteran.
ABC affiliate KGUN9 in Tucson reported that the would-be kidnappers demanded that the Guthrie family pay them $6 million in Bitcoin by a deadline of Monday, February 9th at 5pm (Montana).
Tracy Walder, a former CIA official and FBI special agent, told Page Six that the latest details of the ransom note show “this person definitely knows what they’re doing.”
“This guy probably practiced and thought it through,” says a NewsNation contributor. “I don’t think anyone ever woke up and thought, ‘This is what I’m going to do.’
“This is someone who said, ‘I’m going to sit down and this is how I’m going to encrypt my email and this is the VPN that I’m going to use.'” They had some plan for this. ”
Walder could not comment on whether the kidnappers were “experts” in ransom payments, but cited encrypted emails as a clue.
“Not everyone knows that Bitcoin is an easy way to become untraceable,” Walder explains. “This person clearly has knowledge about these things.”
Walder said the kidnappers are using Bitcoin and restricting communication with their families, making it more difficult for authorities to track their whereabouts before the Feb. 9 deadline.
“I think anyone could be caught,” says the former investigator. “The question is how long will it take? It becomes even more urgent because lives can be at risk. I think the question is the length of time. The more technologically savvy you are, the more challenges you add.”
“The more this person communicates, the more it adds to the difficulty, because this person has gone dark and has only released two ransom notes, so they’re not communicating much. They’re doing it on purpose.”
Walder continued that every touch point of communication by a potential kidnapper “allows the FBI to track it down.”
“I think they feel they’re going to get caught. I wish it was now. That’s the problem,” Walder added.
The same contributor also described “additional difficulties” for authorities regarding the demand for Bitcoin.
“This is money being laundered online,” Walder said. “You don’t go from point A to point B because if you do that, you give up quickly. This will be laundered from one Bitcoin account to another Bitcoin account and then to another account.
“That’s why this person is using Bitcoin…to make sure it’s untraceable. Obviously, nothing is completely untraceable, but it’s going to buy Bitcoin more time because it’s going to be harder to track.”
Walder added: “The FBI is much better at tracking Bitcoin than they used to be. Bitcoin is a new form of money, and they’re going to have to hone their skills to get there.”
A former CIA official said of the staggering $6 million sum: “When I thought about the ransom and what this person had gone through, I thought it would be $5 million (or more).”
“Money has to move the needle for someone to get through these challenges.”
Law enforcement and the FBI have been desperately searching for Savannah Guthrie’s mother since she was reported missing after going to church on February 1st.
She was last seen on January 31, when her son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, dropped the 84-year-old off after dinner with him and his wife, Annie Guthrie.
After a series of ransom notes were discovered, the “Today” host and his brother posted multiple videos on social media attempting to contact the alleged kidnappers.
“We received your message and we understand it,” Savannah said in a video she appeared with her siblings on Saturday night. “We now ask you to give our mother back to us so we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we can have peace. This is something that is very valuable to us and we will pay.”
Walder exclusively told Page Six that he felt the latest video was “very contrived” and “scripted.”
“Is this a corpse ransom?” Walder wondered. “Are we paying to get a body or a human being back? Using the word ‘celebrate’ not only suggests memorials and funerals, but also infers that she wants to have a party when she gets home.”
Police were seen searching Annie’s home again late on Saturday night. According to reports, they left Montana around 10:30 p.m.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Office told Page Six in a statement Sunday: “This remains an active and ongoing investigation. Detectives and investigators continue to follow up at multiple locations.”
“Details of the follow-up investigation are not being released at this time. Investigators have not identified any suspects, persons, or vehicles involved in this incident.”
