Crypto payments are playing a growing role in the fast-moving disappearance case of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of the ‘Today’ show host Savannah Guthrie. On Tuesday, there was activity in the Bitcoin account listed in a recent ransom note, TMZ reported. TMZ and two other local Arizona outlets, KGUN 9 and KOLD, previously reported receiving a ransom note, in which the purported kidnappers asked for Bitcoin in exchange for Nancy Guthrie.
On Wednesday, another letter was sent to TMZ, demanding a Bitcoin payment in exchange for information about the kidnapper. This new note asked for 1 Bitcoin, equivalent to about $70,000, and cites a legitimate Bitcoin address.
The payment into the Bitcoin account could lead to information about the suspect, Bezalel Eithan Raviv, CEO and founder of Lionsgate Network, a blockchain forensics firm, told the New York Post.
TMZ and the Pima County Sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The FBI declined to share any new details about the case, in a note to Fortune.
The news outlets have not shared the Bitcoin address in question. Such addresses consist of a long string of numbers and characters and can be viewed on Bitcoin’s public blockchain using so-called explorer tools like this one. Any payment to the alleged kidnapper’s address would be visible to anyone as would the address of the sender.
