Savannah Guthrie has been advised to consider paying a portion of the Bitcoin ransom as investigators continue to search for her missing mother, Nancy Guthrie.
After several ransom emails came to light earlier this month, Jennifer Coffindaffer, a former FBI agent, said that sending a portion of the demanded cryptocurrency could help track down the people behind the messages.
“Tickling the wire in this case would mean putting in half a bitcoin and seeing what happens to it,” he explains. newsweek. “Do they take it? Do they convert it into pesos? It’s tracked internationally. How does it get into currency? Do they just leave it there?”
He said that although money may be lost, the transaction may provide a realistic lead. “I think it’ll be worth it to me.”
Investigators are being cautious about the messages, as some experts believe they could be scammers taking advantage of the situation.
The emails are also contradictory as one person alleged that Nancy was dead, while another claimed that she was seen alive in Mexico. None of the emails have been verified by authorities.
Savannah also echoed the uncertainty, saying that many of the messages are probably not reliable.
Nancy, 78, disappeared from her home in Tucson, Arizona in late January. Authorities believe she was kidnapped and there are signs of a struggle and security footage shows a masked man near the property.
