The clock is ticking for the family of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of NBC’s “Today” anchor, Savannah Guthrie, who has been missing for over a week. A crucial deadline looms as the family grapples with the situation.
Since last Monday, alleged kidnappers have been in touch with the Guthrie family via media channels, demanding a $6 million ransom in Bitcoin. The family still hasn’t seen any solid evidence confirming Nancy’s wellbeing, and no direct communication with the alleged captors has been established, despite their public pleas.
As the second deadline approaches at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, the stakes are said to be considerably higher than the previous deadline last Thursday. This new ultimatum is being described as “far more consequential.”
NBC has released an undated photograph of Nancy and Savannah Guthrie in light of the elder Guthrie’s disappearance, highlighting the urgency and personal nature of the situation.
Law enforcement agencies are treating the ransom communications with utmost seriousness. Harvey Levin from TMZ, who received one of these messages, noted that the letter contained specific information that only the alleged kidnappers would know.
An expert, speaking to Fox News Digital, mentioned that a Bitcoin transaction of this magnitude, even at $6 million, could be executed swiftly and remain untraceable, compounding the complexity of the situation.
“So the way the payment would work is just wallet to wallet, but the point of it is it wouldn’t be tracked,” Rosecliff Ventures CEO Michael Murphy said. “You wouldn’t be able to trace where my wallet came from, and you wouldn’t be able to trace what wallet it was going to.”
FBI agents canvass homes near Nancy Guthrie’s home in Tucson on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. Guthrie was last seen on Saturday night as an investigation into her disappearance continues. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)
Even if the Guthries have never exchanged cryptocurrency before, they could open a wallet, deposit the money and send it with only a few clicks.
“Click, click done,” he said. “And you wouldn’t know where it went, or you couldn’t even check. A lot of times these people have different IP addresses being found in different places. So you’d be like, ‘oh they were in Russia oh now, wait, they were in Florida, oh no, they’re in Paris.’ So you wouldn’t really know.”
An unconfirmed report from TMZ on Monday said that a Bitcoin wallet for the potential transaction remains empty.
Local and federal authorities have collaborated on the high-profile case, which has captured the attention of the nation.
Savannah Guthrie and her siblings Annie and Cameron made an emotional plea on Instagram asking anyone with information about their mother Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance to come forward. (Credit: Instagram/@SavannahGuthrie/Today)
In their latest message to Nancy’s alleged captors, Savannah and sister Annie, along with brother Camron, once again pleaded for Nancy’s release, and made a promise to pay.
“We received your message, and we understand,” Savannah said on Instagram on Saturday. “We beg you now to return our mother to us so we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”
