It’s a race against time to find the mother of a popular NBC anchor.
Editor’s note: This is a developing story and has been updated with the latest details.
TUCSON, Ariz. — Missing man in his 80s. Demand for ransom. A desperate race against time.
These elements of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie’s high-profile search for her 84-year-old Arizona mother have familiar echoes for former FBI agent Katherine Schweidt.
Almost exactly 23 years ago, she was investigating the midnight abduction of Hedwig Brown, an 88-year-old grandmother from Wisconsin. Brown was thrown into the trunk of a car and then left chained to a snowmobile trailer, Schweidt said.
Five days later, she was found alive, and authorities arrested a local suspect familiar with the family and her grandson’s construction company, who kidnapped her for a $3 million ransom.
As investigators searching for Nancy Guthrie now focus on potential leads, Schweidt and several other former FBI agents said details released so far suggest the killer likely had prior knowledge of the home and family and that the crime was financially, rather than ideologically, motivated. At the same time, investigators face challenges such as verifying ransom demands in the digital age.
In a new video Savannah Guthrie posted to Instagram on February 7, she said her family was willing to pay.
“We now ask you to return our mother to us and celebrate with us. This is the only way we can have peace. This is very precious to us and we will pay the price.”
Kidnapping case attracting attention in the digital age
“True kidnapping for ransom is a throwback to the Lindbergh era,” Schweidt said, citing the 1932 kidnapping for ransom of Charles Lindbergh’s son as an example.
These days, most kidnapping cases are usually related to domestic or family problems, smugglers, or mental illness. Cases that target wealthy individuals or celebrities, such as the 1974 kidnapping of William Randolph Hearst’s granddaughter, are rare but attract significant attention.
“Movies are made because it’s dramatic and scary. You can’t see that happening in real life,” said former FBI agent Lance Rising. “Unfortunately, you are doing a disservice to the family and the victim.”
Law enforcement reveals details of Nancy Guthrie’s ransom note
The FBI said Nancy Guthrie’s ransom demand letter included “facts related to the deadline,” including an Apple Watch and “monetary value.”
Guthrie was first reported missing by her family on February 1, when she failed to show up at church. Her disappearance sparked a massive search effort in the Catalina Foothills area north of Tucson and a criminal investigation by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and FBI. Sheriff Chris Nanos later said Guthrie appeared to have been “removed from his home against his will.”
Three days later, on February 2nd, a ransom message was distributed to multiple media outlets demanding payment in Bitcoin. But there was no further contact, and the family posted a video on social media urging people to contact Guthrie’s captors. On February 5, the FBI arrested Derrick Cajera in California. Authorities say they sent a text message to Guthrie’s family about the Bitcoin payment shortly after publicly pleading for his safe return. According to a criminal complaint, he is charged with crimes including transmitting ransom-related communications.
On February 6, the FBI announced that it was investigating a new ransom message, but did not provide further details. Tucson television station KOLD said it had received both the latest note and the first potential ransom note, but that the new note contained information that appeared to be intended to prove the sender was the same. A suspect has not yet been identified.
The latest Guthrie family member posted a new Instagram video on February 7th.
Savannah Guthrie also said in the video, “We heard your message and we understand it.”
“The comment ‘I understand’ clearly refers to something in the memo that we don’t know,” said Reesing, a former FBI agent. He said this could be a nod to the kidnappers’ complaints and instructions on how to hand over the money, while the word “celebrate” could refer to some kind of resolution.
“I think investigators are proceeding under the assumption that she is still alive, but there are indications in the family’s deposition that they fear she is no longer alive,” he said.
This was the latest in a series of lawsuits in which law enforcement was trying to determine the legitimacy of the requests.
Riesing said he did not know the details of the investigative unit. But he said evidence from the home that was made public, including bloodstains on Nancy as she was leaning forward, motion detected early in the morning on a home camera, and a detailed timeline, suggests the attacker was likely someone who knew the house or the family in some way, or “someone who saw her at a bank or somewhere and thought she had money, or just knew she was the mother of a famous person with money, and targeted her for that reason.”
He said the remote, upscale road is not an area where random kidnappings are likely to occur, as the homes are set back. And planning was likely involved, he said. However, he said it was less clear whether the ransom note was legitimate.
more: How did Nancy Guthrie’s kidnappers avoid surveillance cameras?
Verification of ransom note
Michael E. Anderson, president of the FBI’s Association of Former Special Agents and a 28-year veteran of the agency, said it is imperative that law enforcement authenticate the ransom note and confirm that its author is behind the abduction.
Anderson said news of kidnappings, especially in high-profile cases like Guthrie’s, can lead to copycats posing as fake kidnappers to fool distraught families, while also draining valuable resources from time-sensitive investigations.
He added that the note in Nancy Guthrie’s case was “highly unusual” because kidnappers typically share ransom notes directly and discreetly with family members.
“They want to remain silent,” Anderson said. “Because every time you put something out like this, it brings more attention from law enforcement.”
Eric O’Neill, a former FBI counterintelligence officer and cybersecurity expert, said the strategy of sending the memo to the media may have been designed to ratchet up the pressure. The perpetrators may be hoping to “pressure the family to pay and get the family to say, ‘This is bad. I’m going to send them Bitcoin and roll the dice.'”
O’Neill said it was also unusual that there was no way to contact him after the initial request. He said the memo contained instructions for sending virtual currency to a digital wallet, but officials said the memo did not include instructions on how to negotiate or what would happen after the payment was made.
He said the negotiations were typical, despite the risk of leaving a digital footprint in communications with officials and families.
Without instructions on how to communicate, the family, in consultation with the FBI, began making a video appeal to the kidnappers, and Savannah Guthrie called on her captors to get hard evidence that her mother was alive.
“The family’s statement follows a very typical playbook of ransom kidnapping negotiation tactics for investigators,” Rising said. In other words, they humanize the victim as the kidnapper, encouraging contact that will lead to her release or the kidnapper’s arrest, in the hope that the victim might hear about efforts to rescue her.
more: The search for Nancy Guthrie and the loss felt by her community
Why proof of survival is even more important now
Verifying living evidence is a big hurdle to clear, Anderson said, especially in the age of AI, where sophisticated videos that mimic a person’s voice and appearance can be created with a few keystrokes.
“It could be a photo of someone from years ago holding a newspaper or magazine with the date visible,” Anderson said. “But with today’s technology, that’s not enough. You need more than a photo or someone’s voice.”
Effective verification will likely require the abductor or abductee to provide unique information that only a few people know.
“It could be a word,” Anderson said. “It could be something that happened in that family’s history. It could be, ‘Hey, where did we go on vacation this year?’ or something personal that only that person and their family know.”
importance of motivation
At this point, there is little to suggest the motive is political or ideological, Liesing said. Compared to those who demand money, kidnappers who demand statements can be more dangerous because they have less incentive to keep the person alive. Kidnappers may try to keep their victims healthy in hopes of receiving large amounts of compensation.
Rising predicts that the perpetrators will be focused on getting money, similar to the perpetrators of a series of coyote kidnappings his office investigated in the 2000s. These are migrants who crossed the border illegally and were held for ransom by smugglers.
It is not yet clear whether the new message represents a break in the search. However, the case has become a top priority for the FBI, which has offered a $50,000 reward for information. President Donald Trump said investigators have some strong leads.
“I just want to note that there’s a lot we don’t know. Law enforcement is very limited in what they release. If I were in charge of that investigation, I would only release things that I think will help solve this case,” Liesing said.
For example, fraudulent tipsters may withhold details they don’t know, he said.
Meanwhile, the clock continued to tick toward the ransom note’s second deadline of Monday, February 9th, ending after the initial deadline of Thursday, February 5th.
emotional decision
Whether the Guthrie family pays the ransom is their decision, officials said.
But for the family, many unknowns remain, O’Neill said. In any kidnapping case, paying a ransom does not guarantee the return of the victim or provide an opportunity to capture the perpetrator.
With digital currency, kidnappers no longer need to remove suitcases of cash as they did in the past. They may have fled the area long ago, leaving the victim somewhere.
And the Feb. 7 message raised many new questions about what the family learned and what will happen next.
Ms O’Neill said: “I can’t imagine the fear and fear for these poor families as they face the second deadline on Monday.” “What should I do after considering calculus?”
