A Bitcoin wallet referenced in ransom demands tied to the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie has shown new on-chain activity. TMZ said Tuesday that the crypto account named in the original ransom note had moved for the first time since the note was sent, adding a rare new development to a case that had seen no confirmed contact after earlier payment deadlines passed.
Key transaction details remain unknown. The amount was not disclosed, and no public information has identified the sender. Authorities have not said whether the wallet movement came from alleged kidnappers, the Guthrie family, law enforcement, or another party, while the FBI continues to investigate the case.
First reported wallet movement since ransom notes were sent
Nancy Guthrie, 84, is the mother of NBC Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie. She was last seen at her home in Catalina Foothills, Arizona, in late January and was reported missing on February 1. Investigators treated the disappearance as a likely abduction after finding signs of a struggle and blood at the scene that was matched through DNA.
Not long after she vanished, at least one ransom note demanding payment in Bitcoin (BTC) was sent to two Tucson television stations and TMZ. The note reportedly set two deadlines and asked for millions of dollars in Bitcoin in exchange for Guthrie’s safe return.
TMZ founder Harvey Levin said the wallet tied to the first letter showed activity late Tuesday. He said he noticed it about 12 minutes after it happened, but did not describe the transaction itself or say whether the activity involved an incoming transfer, an outgoing transfer, or another type of wallet action.
Wallet activity appeared hours after FBI released images
The timing has drawn attention. The reported wallet movement came hours after the FBI released surveillance images of a person of interest. Published footage and photos showed a masked person near Guthrie’s home early on the morning she disappeared, and another person of interest was detained for questioning south of Tucson earlier in the week.
Even so, officials have not connected those developments to the Bitcoin activity. The central facts of the case remain unchanged: Guthrie is still missing, the case is being handled as a likely abduction, and the wallet movement has not been confirmed as contact from any specific party.
Crypto-linked kidnappings have surfaced in other cases
The reported activity in the Guthrie case arrives as crypto-linked kidnappings have appeared in other jurisdictions. The report noted that French authorities recently arrested six suspects in a case involving a magistrate and her mother, who were held for a crypto ransom before being rescued.
In another operation last year, police in Spain and Denmark dismantled a gang accused of abducting and killing a crypto holder in an attempt to gain access to digital wallets. Cases like these point to a harsher reality for digital asset holders: the threat can extend well beyond online theft and into physical coercion.