Nancy Guthrie’s friends were first to notice she was missing and alerted daughter Annie: Live updates

The alleged abductors of Nancy Guthrie may have revealed themselves by including a Bitcoin address in the ransom note, an expert said.

‘He showed his Achilles to everyone who understands blockchain forensics,’ Bezalel Eithan Raviv told Page Six.

‘Whenever cyber criminals offer their wallet address is where they basically reveal themselves in many ways.’

Michael Rudzena, the Pastor of Good Shepherd New York, where Savannah Guthrie attends, described meeting the Today show host’s mother.

‘Over the years, Nancy would visit, and we got a chance to meet her and know her a little bit,’ Rudzena told Hoda Kotb in an interview that aired on the Today show Tuesday morning.

‘She’s a strong woman. And she is fiercely loving. Over the years, we’ve gotten to know what makes her tick in some ways in a faith perspective. The songs that mean something to her, the scriptures that are meaningful for her.’

He said that his heart goes out to Nancy and that he hopes her faith can be a guiding light for her.

‘I think we’re all putting ourselves in the position of knowing that dark experiences can be overwhelming, and we think of Nancy, our heart goes out to Nancy, and we don’t know what we don’t know,’ Rudzena said.

‘And yet we know that light shines in dark circumstances, and it’s light that gets us out of them. And I think that image of a guiding light is powerful, and our hope is that god is a guiding light right now for her.’

The search for Nancy Guthrie has entered its 10th day without any leads on her whereabouts or who took her.

Savannah Guthrie’s 84-year-old mother was abducted from her $1 million Tucson, Arizona, home in the early hours of February 1.

She was last seen by her family the night before, when she was dropped off at her home after spending the evening with her daughter Annie and son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni.

Nancy was reported missing the next day after not attending church.

Police said DNA tests showed blood on Nancy’s front porch was a match to her, and her doorbell camera was disconnected in the early hours.

The final ransom deadline for the Today show host’s mother was at 5pm local time on Monday, by which time the alleged kidnappers wanted $6 million in Bitcoin, local news station KGUN reported.

Savannah had said over the weekend she would pay the ransom in exchange for her mother’s safe return, but officials confirmed Monday night that no payments had been made.

As of Monday night, investigators have not identified any suspects or persons of interest.

Savannah Guthrie is waiting out the search for her missing mother in a $1.2million mansion tucked away in Tucson’s Catalina Foothills, the Daily Mail can exclusively reveal.

The embattled NBC host flew in to her Arizona hometown last week after her mother Nancy, 84, vanished from her own $1million rural home.

Savannah, 54, initially stayed with sister Annie, 56, at the sprawling ranch-style property she shares with Italian husband Tommaso Cioni, 50.

But the sisters – along with their brother Camron, 61 – did a midnight flit after the constant presence of news cameras became unbearable.

The probe into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie was at a pivotal crossroads Tuesday as another ransom deadline passed without a resolution and the sheriff’s department ceded negotiations to the FBI.

More than a week later, investigators admitted they still have not identified any suspects or persons of interest.

The FBI has released a disheartening message saying it has not yet identified a suspect of person of interest in the case after more than a week, as it takes over the investigation into the ransom notes.

The FBI released a statement as the second payment deadline passed.

‘For more than a week, FBI agents, analysts and professional staff have worked around the clock to reunite Nancy Guthrie with her family,’ a spokesperson said.

‘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.’

The spokesperson then went on to provide an update on the investigation, noting that ‘additional personnel from FBI field offices across the nation continue to deploy to Tucson.

‘We are currently operating a 24-hour command post that includes crisis management experts, analytic support and investigative teams,’ the spokesperson added.

‘But we still need the public’s help.

‘Someone has that one piece of information that can help us bring Nancy home. We need that person to share what they know.

‘Please call us at 1-800-CALL-FBI.’

Savannah Guthrie said she believes her mother, Nancy, is still alive and asked the nation for help in her ‘hour of desperation.’

‘We believe that somehow, someway she is feeling these prayers and that God is lifting her even in this moment,’ she said in an Instagram video posted Monday.

‘We believe our mom is still out there.’

She then asked her 1.6 million followers to help with the search by reporting anything they think might be suspicious.

‘We need your help. Law enforcement is working tirelessly around the clock to bring her home, trying to find her. She was taken, and we don’t know where,’ she said.

‘I’m coming on, just ask you not just for your prayers but, no matter where you are, even if you’re far from Tucson, if you see anything, if you hear anything, if there is anything at all that seems strange to you, that you report to law enforcement.’

She concluded, ‘We are at an hour of desperation, and we need your help.’

The Pima County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday night it still has not identified any suspects or persons of interests in Nancy Guthrie’s kidnapping.

‘Investigators have not identified any suspects, persons of interest, or vehicles connected to Nancy Guthrie,’ the sheriff’s department posted on X.

‘Anyone who believes they have information that may assist investigators is asked to contact 1-800-CALL-FBI or the PCSD non-emergency line at 520-351-4900, or 88-CRIME.’

As the Monday deadline for payment of the ransom demanded for the return of Nancy Guthrie passes without proof of life, or consequence, her family and investigators must face the cruel potential reality that this entire line of enquiry has been a hoax.

Former SWAT team captain Josh Schirard told the Daily Mail: ‘The deadline passing just tells law enforcement we need to close this particular path of investigation and continue putting efforts and resources and assets into the ones that might be more viable.’

Retired FBI supervisory special agent James Gagliano said the terrain around Nancy Guthrie’s house is likely hindering the investigation.

Gagliano said he was shocked on Tuesday morning to arrive at the scene and find the area so dark and desolate.

‘I was stunned, literally stunned, this morning as we arrived on location to see what this looked like,’ he told Fox & Friends.

‘What I was immediately struck by was this: the darkness. Even with a full moon, the light pollution out here is negligible. There is none. It is so dark.’

He added, ‘And the type of cacti, the flora and fauna that are native here in Arizona, for somebody to be able to sneak up in the dark, not to be seen, or to bring a car in with no lights on the road right behind my shoulder.’

Gagliano said he believes the terrain is a contributing factor in why police are having difficulty finding witnesses to the crime.

‘This really took my breath away about how difficult this is going to be, and it made a lot more sense to me why somebody that night might not have seen anything,’ he said.