KGUN9 declined to share any further details about the ransom letter in a note to Fortune. Law enforcement has not said that the ransom letter is legitimate.
In order to pay the ransom, the Guthrie family would have to acquire Bitcoin, typically by opening an account with a crypto exchange, according a spokesperson at the blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis. The family could also send the money through an intermediary. In either case, they would then transfer the requested amount to the wallet address provided by the captors.
Bitcoin addresses, which are public, are long strings of random numbers and characters that can only be opened with a corresponding private key controlled by the wallet owner.
“Prompt response from exchanges and law enforcement is the only hope to stop the money,” said Nicholas Smart, VP of a blockchain investigations company called Crystal Intelligence.
A second note has been conclusively found to be fake, and led to the arrest of the sender, but for now authorities appear to be treating the KGUN9 one as plausible.
Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Today show cohost Savannah Guthrie, was last seen on Saturday, Jan. 31. The following day, after Nancy Guthrie was not seen at church, her family went to her home and found her phone, wallet, and daily medication but did not find her.
It is widely believed that Guthrie was taken from her home against her will. Blood was spotted at the house and there were other signs of forced entry. The Pima County sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
