Nancy Guthrie, mother of Today anchor Savannah Guthrie, was missing for the 14th day on Saturday. Nancy was last seen on January 31 around 9:45 p.m. when her son-in-law Tommaso Cioni dropped her off at home after having dinner with him and his wife Annie.
As investigators and family search for clues to her abduction, the sender of the latest ransom has increased his request to share information about her captor. He also warned the authorities of an international manhunt if they did not take him seriously.
Meanwhile, a new video has emerged that police say they are investigating as an Arizona police officer rules out claims he withheld key evidence from the FBI.
Here are the main updates on the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping case:
Read also | Nancy Guthrie case: 3rd ransom emerges as FBI raises reward to $100,000
Man raises price to name kidnappers
The sender of a chilling third ransom asking for one bitcoin worth $68,000 in exchange for the name and location of the kidnapper has now raised his price.
TMZ said it received a third email from a man who claims to know the identity of Nancy Guthrie’s kidnapper because he “doesn’t trust law enforcement.”
These new emails were reportedly sent to TMZ after the FBI doubled its reward for information to help find Nancy.
According to TMZ, the sender felt the $100,000 reward was a move designed “to discredit me.” He has now asked for this FBI reward in bitcoins.
However, there is a catch! The sender, TMZ said, is demanding a fraction of $50,000 worth of bitcoin in exchange for the information. He said he would take the remaining $50,000 in bitcoins after the kidnapper was arrested.
He said he would give up “the name of the main individual” in the kidnapping case after the initial payment and “promised” not to drag him into an arrest.
In a more recent email, TMZ said the person warned authorities that if they didn’t cooperate, they should be “prepared to travel internationally” to find the kidnappers.
The news publication believes this is likely a reference to Mexico, which is less than a 90-minute drive from Tucson.
DNA other than that found on Nancy
According to CNN, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department found DNA on Nancy’s property that is not hers.
Authorities found “DNA other than Nancy Guthrie and those in close contact with her” on her property, the sheriff’s department said. “Investigators are working to find out who it belongs to.”
Investigators declined to disclose where the DNA was found.
Read also | Nancy Guthrie update: Arizona sheriff denies blocking FBI access to evidence
Arizona Sheriff Rebuts Claims FBI Withheld Key Evidence
Arizona Sheriff Chris Nanos dismissed reports suggesting he withheld crucial physical evidence from the FBI, calling it “not even close to the truth.”
A Reuters report revealed that evidence in the Nancy Guthrie case was sent to a private DNA lab in Florida rather than the FBI’s national crime lab in Quantico, Virginia.
Insisting on cooperation with his federal counterparts, Nanos told NBC Tucson affiliate KVOA, “The FBI actually wanted to send the one or two they found at the scene the closest to him — a mile, a mile and a half.”
“I said ‘No, why do that? Let’s send them all to where all the DNA, all the profiles and the tags are.’ They agreed, it makes sense,” he added.
Nanos also said the glove first found by the FBI may not be as important to the case as previously believed. “We don’t even know the true value of these gloves,” he said, noting that there were “quite a lot.”
Pool maintenance “at the request of the Guthrie family”
The sheriff’s department told CNN that the pool maintenance crew seen at Nancy Guthrie’s home on Friday was “at the request of Guthrie’s family.”
Ken Kingan, CEO of the pool company, told the news channel that this was the first time they had maintained Nancy’s pool. Sheriffs were present at the house during the service.
Police are investigating the new video
In the Nancy Guthrie case, new video has emerged that shows a man with a goatee sneaking up on the 84-year-old’s doorbell camera a week before she was abducted.
According to TMZ, police and the FBI are aware of the video and are considering it as a potential lead.
They also continue to search for additional video related to the case and say they will “send another message to surveillance camera users in the Guthrie neighborhood via the Neighbors app this afternoon.
Read also | Who is Derrick Callella? “Con artist” accused of writing Nancy Guthrie’s ransom note
The suspect was wearing a knitted jacket
TMZ reported that the kidnapping suspect may be wearing a jacket with a knot — the Athletic Works Fusion Knit Jacket, which is currently on sale at Walmart.
This comes after the outlet claimed it was a windbreaker. However, TMZ said that “after digging deeper, we found a piece that might be even closer.”
Notable striking similarities to the knit jacket, notably the center zip and prominent horizontal seam across the chest, as well as the cuffs and hem of the outer garment.
However, TMZ said that this is a common athletic style and multiple brands can have an almost identical design.