Overview
- Nancy Guthrie, who was reported missing on Feb. 1, is believed by investigators to have been abducted after blood and other evidence were found at her Tucson-area home.
- Investigators received an initial ransom demand for $4 million in bitcoin and a later Feb. 6 message that multiple outlets and law-enforcement sources now say claimed Guthrie had died.
- TMZ, which received some of the early communications, publicly disputed that the specific note it received said Guthrie had died, creating a direct disagreement between media accounts.
- Authorities say they used a cryptocurrency tracing tactic by sending $152 to the bitcoin address named in an early note but the payment was not moved; investigators continue forensic and digital reviews and no arrests have been announced.
- Volunteer teams have expanded searches near the Arizona–Mexico border and reported unmarked graves that officials say are not linked to Guthrie, and the family has continued public appeals and a reward pool now above $1 million.