Crypto payments are playing a growing role in the fast-moving disappearance case of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of the ‘Today’ show host Savannah Guthrie. On Tuesday, there was activity in the Bitcoin account listed in a recent ransom note, TMZ reported. TMZ and two other local Arizona outlets, KGUN 9 and KOLD, previously reported receiving a ransom note, in which the purported kidnappers asked for Bitcoin in exchange for Nancy Guthrie.
On Wednesday, another letter was sent to TMZ, demanding a Bitcoin payment in exchange for information about the kidnapper. This new note asked for 1 Bitcoin, equivalent to about $70,000, and cites a legitimate Bitcoin address.
The payment into the Bitcoin account could lead to information about the suspect, Bezalel Eithan Raviv, CEO and founder of Lionsgate Network, a blockchain forensics firm, told the New York Post.
TMZ and the Pima County Sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The FBI declined to share any new details about the case, in a note to Fortune.
The news outlets have not shared the Bitcoin address in question. Such addresses consist of a long string of numbers and characters and can be viewed on Bitcoin’s public blockchain using so-called explorer tools like this one. Any payment to the alleged kidnapper’s address would be visible to anyone as would the address of the sender.
A Bitcoin address on its own does not reveal who controls it, but blockchain forensics firms are typically able to find clues that point to the owner’s location. In many cases, the Bitcoin wallet will list transactions tied to a third party, who may possess data about the owner’s identity.
For now, there is no official confirmation the Bitcoin wallet in the Guthrie case is tied to the kidnappers, or if the TMZ correspondence is authentic.
Authorities still do not have a suspect in the case. They detained a 36 year-old on Tuesday, only to release him the next day. The Arizona resident, who only identified himself by the first name Carlos, said after his release that he didn’t know who Nancy Guthrie was and hoped the real suspect could be found.
Surveillance video shows someone at Nancy Guthrie’s house on the night of her disappearance. The footage, released by the FBI, shows that the suspect’s face is covered, except the person’s eyes and mouth, and that the person is carrying a backpack.
The search for Nancy Guthrie is now entering its eleventh day. On February 1st, her family discovered she was missing and called the police. All signs indicate that she was taken from her home against her will. A doorbell camera was tampered with, and Guthrie’s blood was splattered at the home.
A few days after her disappearance, multiple news outlets reported receiving ransom letters asking for Bitcoin. TV anchor Savannah Guthrie said “we will pay” in a video released on Instagram, where she appeared with her siblings.
Update: This article has been updated to include analysis by Bezalel Eithan Raviv.
