The new report sheds light on how a key lead was fumbled in the Nancy Guthrie case
As Nancy Guthrie has been missing for over 100 days, investigations have yet to produce a suspect.
This has led to a flood of criticism of them.
Now, a report in AirMail sheds light on what initial misstep the FBI – one of the agencies involved in the case – made, which proved fatal to the investigation.
It was when the ransom note came.
In this, the presumed captors demanded $4 million in Bitcoin.
While in the message, details about Nancy were included, such as what she was wearing and when she disappeared.
Then, the alleged kidnappers threatened the ransom price would increase if the family did not pay within four days.
But investigators at the time opted for a risky tactic: depositing just $152 to lure suspects into cashing out from the crypto wallet and, in return, exposing their location or identity.
However, the plan reportedly went awry.
The kidnappers never touched the money, and the account remained dormant.
This move by the suspect frustrated the authorities' investigation.
Adding insult to injury, a second ransom message was sent allegedly from the same IP address.
This time, the message carried an even more chilling claim. To get Nancy's body, pay the same $4 million, though the price may rise.
Enter the Guthrie family, who, in Savannah's words, may have believed the first two ransom texts were genuine.
But reportedly, the ransom angle was not the only one the investigators are working on, yet so far no arrests have been made.