A ransom note sent to media outlets demanding millions for the release of Nancy Guthrie set a deadline of 5pm Thursday, the FBI has revealed.
Officials told reporters at a press conference in Tucson, Arizona on Thursday that the ransom notes have not been verified as legitimate, but they are being taken ‘very seriously’ as an investigative lead.
Investigators said that a secondary deadline of Monday had also been set by the ransom notes, which demanded millions in Bitcoin payment for the 84-year-old’s return.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said a sweep of Guthrie’s home also found that a doorbell camera disconnected in the dead of night around the time she disappeared in the early hours of Sunday.
Sheriff Nanos told reporters that the doorbell camera disconnected at 1:47am, but at 2:12am, a person was detected by the camera’s sensors. At 2:28am, Nancy’s pacemaker app – a device tracking her heartbeat – disconnected from her phone’s Bluetooth, Nanos said.
He said no suspects or persons of interest have been identified in the ongoing investigation, but added that he had ‘not ruled anyone out’ as a potential abductor.
Nanos also made a carefully-worded statement about Nancy, but later denied he was suggesting that she is no longer alive.
Opening the press conference, Nanos said: ‘We believe Nancy is still out there… We want her home.’
‘Our department, the sheriff’s department, along with our partners at the FBI have been working around the clock. We just want her home and to get to the bottom of this, like you do.’
Nanos said that although no suspects have been identified, the FBI made an arrest early Thursday, saying an impostor was charged for allegedly sending a fake ransom note.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos revealed Nancy Guthrie’s doorbell camera disconnected in the dead of night around the time she disappeared over the weekend
Savannah Guthrie is seen with her mother Nancy Guthrie. Nancy was reported missing in Tucson, Arizona, at noon on Sunday by her family. She hadn’t been seen since the night of January 31
It comes as images from outside Nancy’s home showed a trail of blood leading from her front door entry to her driveway, with her doorbell camera also removed.
At Thursday’s press conference, officials said DNA analysis showed the blood belonged to Nancy. No other forensic evidence has pointed toward a suspect, Nanos said.
FBI Special Agent Heith Janke insisted that the wide-ranging investigation has not ruled anyone out as suspects, and said that agents are ‘analyzing information from all digital sources, which includes banks, social media companies, phone companies, and any other organization where a digital footprint could have been captured.’
The Pima County Sheriff’s Office acknowledged a ransom note sent to TMZ and KOLD on Tuesday afternoon, three days after the 84-year-old was snatched from her $1 million home where she lived alone.
Authorities have not verified the legitimacy of the notes, but have said they are looking at ‘every lead’ in the ongoing investigation.
TMZ reported that the note, which it also said it could not verify as being sent by the abductors, demanded millions in Bitcoin for the release of Nancy, with a deadline for it to be paid ‘or else.’
The outlet said that the note demanded the Bitcoin be sent to a specific cryptocurrency address, which it has verified as a real Bitcoin address, along with chilling details of what Nancy was wearing at the time of her abduction.
Officials previously said they have no reason to believe Nancy may have been targeted because of her daughter, but have also not ruled out any inquiries.
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Pictured: An aerial view of Nancy Guthrie’s house, where she was allegedly abducted from
Blood was spotted on the walkway of Nancy’s $1million Tucson, Arizona home
Nancy’s Ring doorbell camera was also missing
On Wednesday, Arizona TV news anchor Mary Coleman revealed new details of the possible ransom note, saying that she believes it ‘might not be a hoax.’
Coleman said the Nancy Guthrie ransom note that was sent to the KOLD newsroom contained a ‘lot of it is information that only someone who was holding her for ransom would know.’
‘Some very sensitive information and things that people who weren’t there when she was taken captive wouldn’t know,’ Coleman told CNN.
She added, ‘It also included a dollar amount, a deadline, and, again, other specifics that only Guthrie’s abductor might know, so that definitely raised some red flags.’
It remains unclear if any of those specific details were true as neither investigators nor the Guthrie family have commented on the details.
Savannah Guthrie referenced the note in an emotional video plea for her mother’s return on Wednesday night, but said the family would require proof her mother was still alive before considering its demands.
Coleman also revealed the note was sent to the station via email, and that her team immediately sent it to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.
‘We immediately sent that information over to the sheriff’s department, and they’re, of course, looking into the legitimacy of it,’ she said.
‘One of the detectives did get back to us and asked us for some more information so that they can start searching for an IP address and things of that nature to try and figure out who or what people are responsible here.’
