Bitcoin Ransom Deadline Looms in Guthrie Disappearance (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: The second deadline from an apparent ransom note quickly approaching. It's set for today at 5 p.m. We are learning new details about what is in that note. Guthrie's purported abductor is demanding $6 million in Bitcoin and threatening to kill her if the demand is not met. That's according to a CNN affiliate. Investigators returned to the scene Sunday searching Guthrie's property, including a septic tank near her home. Police still have not identified a suspect. So we're bringing in now Ken Gray. He's a former FBI special agent. Good morning. Thank you for being here.

[00:00:36] Speaker 2: Good morning, Aldi. Good to be with you.

[00:00:39] Speaker 1: First I want to talk about the latest video. People are looking at the turns of phrase among this plea so that they can celebrate with their mother. Can you talk about how these videos are supposed to help in these situations?

[00:00:56] Speaker 2: Sure. So the two videos were quite different. The first one seemed to be trying to convince the kidnapper that their mother was a person, that they encouraged them to talk to her, trying to ensure that her safety was taken care of by the kidnapper. The second video, on the other hand, was quite different in that it was much shorter, much more to the point. Our mother's return is important to us, and we want to celebrate with her, you know, very, very different in its tone and nature. The interesting thing here about this is also that the communication from the kidnapper was not an email. Instead, we learned that the communication came by way of a complaint form or a tip slide form. It was going into the television station over its website. And so that's interesting in that that's why we're not seeing investigative steps that will be able to locate the kidnapper through tracking emails.

[00:02:08] Speaker 1: I'm glad you're bringing that up because we had one of our voices on air, Josh Campbell, who had some criticism about how this is being handled. Here he is.

[00:02:19] Speaker 3: We're kidnapping cases where if there is an actual line of communication that is set up, that is treated sensitively, that is protected, that is not something that either the family nor the FBI crisis negotiators, for that matter, would actually be publicizing. And so the fact that we see this appeal, again, via social media tells us that they're essentially responding to the alleged abductor here via the medium that they have chosen.

[00:02:46] Speaker 1: Can you talk about why you think that matters or if it does?

[00:02:51] Speaker 2: So there is not two way communication going on here. The kidnapper is broadcasting his demands. Their family is going through social media responding to this. But you don't see an exchange of actual details between the two, as you would if they were in direct communication. That causes communication problems, a lack of details. We don't get a sign of life. There was no answer to the request for a sign of life. The family has decided to go ahead, despite the fact that there is no sign of life here, the knowledge that Nancy is still alive. The family has decided to go ahead and pay the kidnapper for her return. It's somewhat unusual, but it's up to the family to make the decision whether or not they're going to pay a ransom and whether or not they're going to pay it, despite the fact that they don't have proof that their mother is still being held alive.

[00:03:53] Speaker 1: So the latest reporting from the purported ransom note is that the abductors are asking for $6 million in Bitcoin for Nancy Guthrie's return. Now, I know Bitcoin, the whole point of it is that it's not traceable. But I was reading, you said that it is possible to recover Bitcoin in these situations. Help me understand.

[00:04:15] Speaker 2: So Bitcoin is something that is sometimes traceable in that it would be traceable if the person reused a Bitcoin address that had been used in a previous case. I don't think that's the case in this particular situation. And then you would have to actually be able to put your hands on the bad guy in this case, the kidnapper, to be able to recover these funds. So I don't think that this money, if it's paid, will be recoverable unless they actually identify the kidnapper and are able to go and actually physically arrest them. Usually in a kidnapping case, when you do the ransom delivery, that's an opportunity for law enforcement to move in on it. With Bitcoin, that opportunity is lost. And so I think that they'll have to identify the kidnapper by other means. We are not aware of all the details of the leads that are being worked by law enforcement in this case. It's somewhat frustrating to the public not seeing how this plays out. But that's not unusual in any law enforcement investigation. And so there are some leads that we are seeing pursued. We see them still going back out to the property now the third time that they have gone in there declaring it a crime scene. I'm surprised that it was not declared a crime scene and held as a crime scene from the very beginning. And we're also seeing other things such as the pursuit of that suspicious vehicle that was in the neighborhood. We've yet to see the result of that. And also the actions over there at Annie's house. We don't know why that returned to her house and what was removed from her house. There are a number of investigative leads that we are seeing play out, but there are far more than what we are seeing play out. And we're just not aware of those details.

[00:06:25] Speaker 1: Okay, so on the day with this deadline, we have many more questions than answers. Ken Gray, thank you for your time. We're just hours away from a reported deadline from Nancy Guthrie's captors, an apparent ransom note set at 5 p.m. today, that deadline for a payment of $6 million. And that's according to a CNN affiliate. The Guthrie family says that they will pay.

[00:06:52] Speaker 4: We received your message and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us and we will pay.

[00:07:11] Speaker 1: CNN's Ivan Rodriguez is in Pima County, Arizona. Ivan, I want to start with something we're hearing today that there's not word yet about proof of life for Nancy Guthrie. Can you talk about what you're hearing and where this investigation stands?

[00:07:28] Speaker 5: Heidi, good morning. That's right. Still no proof of life. This morning when we arrived here outside of Nancy Guthrie's home, there was already a sheriff deputy here parked outside of her home. And we know based on previous reporting that the Nancy Guthrie family had requested that the Pima County sheriff remain on site in order to continue to guard the home. So that is something that we expected to see this morning. We're probably going to see that throughout the day as well. Now, at least two investigators were seen examining a septic tank Sunday afternoon, and they were caught on video opening that tank using a long stick to poke inside, even at times using a flashlight to take a closer look. In there, they were on site for a couple of hours, but the Pima County sheriff didn't exactly release any details as to why they were looking specifically at that septic tank. They did mention, however, that they were going back to multiple locations to do follow-up investigation work. And that is something, Adi, that we have seen now for the last several days. Many investigators going back to different homes, like Annie Guthrie's home, the eldest daughter of Nancy. They were there on a Sunday, Saturday night, rather, where three unmarked vehicles were in that driveway for several hours while sheriff deputies were inside. And although the lights appeared dim inside of the home and the blinds were drawn, bright flashes appeared to indicate that authorities may have been taking photographs inside of that home. When investigators did leave around 10.30 p.m. local time, they left with a bag that was placed in the back of a vehicle. A sheriff deputy was also seen wearing blue latex gloves. And again, we'll remember that Nancy Guthrie was at her daughter Annie's home the night before she disappeared. And I also want to take a second here to mention Nancy's health, because Sheriff Nandos mentioned last week that she does take a life-saving medication, and it could be, quote, fatal if she goes without it. And now she's been without that medication potentially for a week now.

[00:09:30] Speaker 1: OK, that's Ivan Rodriguez with the latest today. We're going to be following that as that deadline is near.