Overview
- The email, received Friday, June 26, claims a phone stashed in a secure location contains a short video of the “main guy” with Nancy Guthrie and offers the phone password for one Bitcoin.
- TMZ says it authenticated the message by matching the sender alias and an earlier Bitcoin address and asked the sender to provide a screenshot of Guthrie from the alleged footage to prove the claim.
- Law enforcement has been notified and the FBI and Pima County sheriff’s investigators are pursuing verification through forensic testing, blockchain tracing and tip follow-ups, but officials have not confirmed the phone or video exist.
- Earlier ransom-style communications included a note that reportedly said Guthrie had died, and investigators have used those messages to help authenticate later correspondence while continuing to examine doorbell footage, limited DNA and pacemaker data.
- No suspects have been publicly identified, the family continues to press for tips and has offered a reward, and investigators warn that public disclosures can affect verification of future leads.