Investigators in the Nancy Guthrie abduction case are re-examining a decision made in the early days of the investigation that some believe may have doomed any chance of recovering her.
According to a new report by Air Mail, a decision made by the FBI task force is now being viewed as a potentially fatal misstep that may have contributed to Guthrie still being missing nearly five months after she was kidnapped from her home in Tucson, Arizona, on Feb. 1.
The decision dates back to early February, when a ransom note sent to TMZ demanded that the Guthrie family pay $4 million in Bitcoin for the return of 84-year-old Nancy, with messages claiming she was “safe but scared.”
The alleged kidnappers, who included details about Nancy’s clothing during the abduction, warned that payment must be made within four days or the demand would increase, adding that the terms were non-negotiable: “Or else.”
Despite the warning, the task force decided the Guthrie family should send a much lower amount and attempt to track the cryptocurrency when the kidnapper tried to cash it.
The outlet reports that investigators attempted to “tickle the wire” by depositing $152 into the kidnappers’ wallet, but the amount reportedly proved insufficient for the plan to succeed. Despite expectations, nothing happened, meaning the money remained untouched in the wallet and the kidnapper could not be tracked.
Sources close to the case told Air Mail that the task force had sorted messages from potential kidnappers into “the good, the bad, and the ugly.” After the original ransom email was sent to TMZ, another message from the same IP address arrived after the deadline had passed and has since become known as the “bad” email.
The second note, sent on Feb. 6, reportedly opened with an “apology,” according to a person close to the case, and went on to say that Guthrie’s body could be returned for the same $4 million sum—or another amount.
Following this note, Nancy’s daughter and Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie, supported by her siblings Annie and Camron, directly addressed her mother’s alleged abductors in an Instagram video.
“We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay,” she said.
In her first TV appearance following her mother’s kidnapping, Savannah, 54, said she tends to “believe” that the first two ransom notes were real.
According to Air Mail, a Pima County detective assigned to the task force has described the early mistake related to those notes as “the Big Jake Theory,” based on a 1971 film in which a grandson is kidnapped and his grandfather is determined to recover him without allowing the kidnappers to profit.
The Today show host and her two siblings have continued to post emotional appeals on social media seeking information and urging Nancy’s alleged kidnappers to safely return her. They have also offered a $1 million reward for information leading to Nancy’s recovery or an arrest.
No suspects have been officially named or charged in connection with Nancy’s disappearance. There are reportedly few leads beyond a single strand of hair, a glove discovered near Guthrie’s home, and doorbell footage showing an armed, masked figure at her door on the night she vanished.
Despite receiving much criticism, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told People last month that the department is getting closer to answers.
“Every day our DNA labs are working with our investigators, and they’re coming up with different ideas and different thoughts of how to help them make this DNA work for us,” Nanos said. “How can we do more with what we have? And so that’s why I say it is—I think we’re getting closer.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for comment.
