Nancy Guthrie’s suspected kidnappers don’t appear to have contacted her family since the daunting deadline to pay a $6 million ransom passed, the FBI said — as more details about the “chilling” threats were revealed.
The deadline set by the 84-year-old’s purported kidnappers expired at 5 p.m. Arizona time (7 p.m. ET) on Monday — with no sign of the ransom being paid, or proof the grandmother was still alive.
“[The FBI] is not aware of any continued communication between the Guthrie family and suspected kidnappers, nor have we identified a suspect or person of interest in this case at this time,” an FBI spokesperson said late Monday.
“We are currently operating a 24-hour command post that includes crisis management experts, analytic support, and investigative teams. But we still need the public’s help.”
“Someone has that one piece of information that can help us bring Nancy home,” they added.
It came as TMZ founder Harvey Levin, whose news outlet was among those to receive one of three unverified ransom notes, revealed the purported abductors had warned there would be “consequences” if the demands weren’t met.
“There is a direct, stark statement about consequences if they didn’t get that money,” he told CNN, adding that the note said “it’s in the best interest” of everyone to resolve the matter quickly.
“That’s all I will say… but it is chilling when you read that sentence. It is short and it is to the point.”
He added there was no evidence any money had been deposited into the bitcoin account in the hours since the deadline lapsed.
“There’s nothing there. It has not been deposited,” Levin said, stressing that his team has been watching it constantly.
However, he cautioned that it is possible a different bitcoin address was sent in later notes to other outlets.
