Nancy Guthrie Abduction: Shocking Details Behind Family’s Decision Not to Pay Ransom

Shortly after Nancy Guthrie went missing on February 1, multiple media houses received ransom notes from alleged kidnappers, who sought $6 million in bitcoin. Savannah Guthrie and her siblings then posted a video, announcing that they were ready to pay the kidnappers.

However, two months later, the ransom has not been paid. Blockchain monitoring shows no payment was made to the cryptocurrency address in question. During a recent interview, Savannah Guthrie revealed that she believed at least two ransom notes were credible.

“There are a lot of different notes, I think, that came,” Savannah Guthrie told Today anchor Hoda Kotb, adding, “But I believe the two notes that we received that we responded to, I tend to believe those are real.”

This statement raised questions about why the Guthrie family did not pay the alleged kidnappers despite receiving two credible ransom notes. Journalist Megyn Kelly addressed the issue on her show on March 28.

She asked, “Why didn't the Guthrie family ever pay a ransom if they believed, as Savannah told us yesterday, that two of those ransom notes they received were authentic? Why wouldn't they have paid the money?”

Experts on her show had a dark theory about why the ransom demands were not met. According to unverified claims, the second ransom note Savannah believed was real was actually an apology note. The kidnappers allegedly messaged that Nancy ‘had gone to be with God.'

According to the standard procedure by law enforcement, ransom should only be paid after proof of life. Since the family did not receive any clue about Nancy being alive from the kidnapper, they did not pay the ransom.

The theory takes into consideration Nancy Guthrie's poor health. The 84-year-old woman relied on a pacemaker and critical medication. When she was taken from her home in the middle of the night, her medicines were left behind. Meanwhile, her pacemaker also lost connection to her phone.

Adding to this could be the shock and anxiety of being kidnapped from her own home. Experts, therefore, believe it is likely that Nancy may have suffered a medical emergency shortly after her abduction. With no proof of life, her family might be fearing the worst and has chosen not to pay the ransom demands.

However, some experts also opine that scammers could have used publicly available information about Nancy’s health to send a fake apology note to the family. According to former FBI agents James Hamilton and Maureen O'Connell, fraudsters could have used apologetic language to mislead the already vulnerable Guthrie family.

Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her home in Catalina Foothills near Tucson, Arizona, on February 1. Despite a two-month-long investigation, detectives have not been able to find her or her kidnappers.

The Guthrie family recently released a statement, announcing that they want to bring Nancy to a ‘final resting place.’

The family said, “We want to celebrate her beautiful and courageous life, but we cannot do that until she is brought to a final resting place.”