“Proof of life is everything. They need to have a dialogue, and the family’s looking for a dialogue with these kidnappers,” Michael Harrigan, who oversaw the FBI National Academy, told The Post Sunday.
Savannah Guthrie and her family shouldn’t pay any ransom for their missing mother until the supposed kidnappers show the world she’s still alive, according to a top former FBI special agent.
“But if there’s no two-way here, no good comes of sending the money,” he added.
The initial ransom demand provided no proof that Nancy was still alive or even in their hands, even as a second deadline of 5 p.m. MT Monday to pay the sum in bitcoin approaches.Instagram/savannahguthrie
Savannah and her siblings released a video Saturday evening telling the senders of a supposed $6 million ransom note that they were ready to pay – even while the note’s authors haven’t provided any proof that Nancy is still alive, or even if they have the matriarch in their possession.
A second communication from the purported kidnappers surfaced Saturday, though it provided no new demands or details about Nancy’s wellbeing, NewsNation reported.
Investigators have not confirmed the notes’ veracity, but Savannah and her siblings still decided they were ready to pay up if that meant getting their mother home.
Former FBI special agent Michael Harrigan warns against paying without proof of life as a second deadline looms.Andy Johnstone for California Post
“We beg you now to return our mother to us, so that we can celebrate with her,” Savannah said in the heart wrenching video alongside her sister Annie and brother Camron.
“This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay,” she said.
Nancy, 85, hasn’t been seen since her son-in-law, Tommaso Ciono, dropped her at her Tucson home on Jan. 31 at 9:45 p.m. after having dinner together with Annie.
She was reported missing the next day after she didn’t arrive for church, and by Monday the search for her was declared a criminal investigation.
The ransom note was sent to at least three news outlets on Tuesday.
Experts say the tech-savvy plotters, who demanded payment in ‘USD,’ might be scammers operating from outside the US.AP
And whoever sent them – be they scammers or true kidnappers — are clearly tech-savvy plotters who know what they’re doing, experts said.
“It’s somebody who’s pretty astute at least with understanding the realities of today’s finances,” Harrigan said. “Bitcoin is very untraceable generally.”
Former CIA and FBI agent Tracy Walder agreed, telling Page Six “This person probably practiced and thought it out.”
“This is someone who said, ‘I am going to sit down. This is how I’m going to encrypt the email, this is the VPN I’m going to use.’ They put some plan into this,” she said, adding that the bitcoin funds would likely be laundered through the internet if paid and make tracking its receiver down even more difficult.
Law enforcement search the property surrounding the Tucson, Arizona, home of Nany Guthrie.Andy Johnstone for CA Post
But Walder thinks the letter sender will eventually be caught – it’s just a matter of when, and whether Nancy really is in their hands.
“The question is how long does that take? You have that added sense of urgency with a potential life being in jeopardy,” she said. “I do think the problem is the length of time. The more tech savvy you are, [the more it] adds an extra layer of difficulty.”
And Harrigan thinks the ransom notes could still be a scam – noting the sender specified that the payment be made in US dollars, which he said indicated they may be located outside the country and possible fraudsters.
“Why would you use that if you’re a domestic person? That points to somebody who might be potentially outside the country, which also lends the potential for this being a scam,” Harrigan said.
“If you’re domestic, why would you ever put ‘USD?’ You put six million,” he added.
