Chris Swecker, a former assistant director of the FBI, expressed his doubts on “The Faulkner Focus” on Fox News, regarding a third letter reportedly sent to TMZ. Swecker suggested that individuals with malicious intent might be exploiting the current situation for personal gain.
“In my view, none of the information TMZ has presented seems credible,” Swecker commented. “TMZ might attract viewers with these stories, but it also distracts investigators who have to chase these leads. I suspect there’s something deceptive going on here,” he added.
While acknowledging he could be mistaken, Swecker maintained his “strong skepticism” about the letter’s authenticity.
On Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom,” TMZ host Harvey Levin disclosed that his platform received another letter related to the mysterious disappearance of Nancy Guthrie. The communication purportedly promises details about the 84-year-old’s alleged kidnappers.
“Just 90 minutes ago, an unusual email arrived from someone claiming to know the kidnapper’s identity,” Levin reported. “They mentioned attempts to contact Savannah’s siblings, Annie and her brother, without success. The sender demanded one Bitcoin, sent to a verified Bitcoin address, emphasizing the urgency of the matter. We are unsure of its legitimacy, but the demand stands,” Levin explained.
The letter also provided a name and email address for the Bitcoin transfer, a sum valued at approximately $56,000, aligning closely with the FBI’s reward for information leading to Nancy Guthrie’s safe return.
Savannah Guthrie and her mother Nancy Guthrie are pictured in 2023. (Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)
“I don’t think this person is purporting to be [the alleged kidnappers],” Levin said. “This person is purporting to be someone who probably wrote that first letter. If the FBI’s operating theory is right, they are going on the assumption that the person who wrote this note took Nancy. And so they’re not saying they’re the kidnappers, they are saying they know who the kidnapper is, and we’ll give that information up for one Bitcoin.”
According to Levin, law enforcement officials are operating under the assumption that Guthrie’s alleged abductor “lives in the Tucson television area.”
Photos released on Feb. 10, 2025, show a “subject” on Nancy Guthrie’s property. (Provided by FBI)
The latest revelation comes on the heels of the FBI and Pima County Sheriff’s Office releasing recovered surveillance images and footage of Nancy Guthrie’s alleged abductor, showing a masked individual approaching her front door and attempting to cover it with foliage.
On Tuesday evening, authorities took one individual into custody for questioning in relation to Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance, though no arrests have been made.
A man at the home identified himself to Fox News as Carlos Palazuelos and said he had been pulled over during a traffic stop. He was detained for questioning but later released by authorities.
FBI Director Kash Patel said on “Hannity” that the agency is looking at multiple persons of interest in the search for Nancy Guthrie.
Savannah Guthrie (C) and her siblings Annie (L) and Cameron made an emotional plea on Instagram asking anyone with information about their mother Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance to come forward on February 4, 2025. (Credit: Instagram/@SavannahGuthrie/Today)
“Without polluting the investigation, I will say we have made substantial progress in these last 36-48 hours, thanks to the technical capabilities of the FBI and our partnerships, and I do believe we are looking at people who, as we say, are persons of interest, but as you know with any investigation, you’re a person of interest until you’re either eliminated, or you’re actually found to be the culprit or the culprits involved, and that’s the stage we’re at right now,” Patel said.
Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her Tucson, Arizona home in the early morning hours of Sunday, Feb. 1. Since she was reported missing, TMZ and various news outlets have received two alleged notes believed to be connected to her disappearance.
