Nancy Guthrie's alleged Bitcoin ransom could be paid in minutes as Monday deadline approaches: expert
A critical deadline is approaching as 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, mother of NBC's "Today" anchor Savannah Guthrie, remains missing after more than a week.
Alleged ransomers have been communicating with the Guthrie family through the media since last Monday afternoon, and are reportedly are seeking a $6 million Bitcoin transfer. It remains unclear whether the $6 million will lead to Nancy's release, and despite multiple public pleas from the Guthrie family, proof of life or a means to contact her alleged captors do not appear to have been offered.
However, Monday night at 5:00 p.m. marks a second deadline given by the purported ransomers, one that has been described as "far more consequential" than last Thursday night's 5:00 p.m. deadline.
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Authorities are taking the ransom letters seriously, and Harvey Levin of TMZ, whose outlet received a letter, described details that only the alleged captors could know.
According to an expert who spoke to Fox News Digital, a Bitcoin transaction, even one with a $6 million sum, would be quick and untraceable.
"So the way the payment would work is just wallet to wallet, but the point of it is it wouldn't be tracked," he said. "You wouldn't be able to trace where my wallet came from, and you wouldn't be able to trace what wallet it was going to."
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Even if the Guthries have never exchanged cryptocurrency before, they could open a wallet, deposit the money and send it with only a few clicks.
"Click, click done," he said. "And you wouldn't know where it went, or you couldn't even check. A lot of times these people have different IP addresses being found in different places. So you'd be like, 'oh they were in Russia oh now, wait, they were in Florida, oh no, they're in Paris.' So you wouldn't really know."
An unconfirmed report from TMZ on Monday said that a Bitcoin wallet for the potential transaction remains empty.
Local and federal authorities have collaborated on the high-profile case, which has captured the attention of the nation.
In their latest message to Nancy's alleged captors, Savannah and sister Annie, along with brother Camron, once again pleaded for Nancy's release, and made a promise to pay.
"We received your message, and we understand," Savannah said on Instagram on Saturday. "We beg you now to return our mother to us so we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay."