TMZ founder Harvey Levin revealed Monday that after a period of inactivity, the digital news site has received a new ransom note claiming to have important information about Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance.
The anonymous sender had previously “constantly” contacted Levine and TMZ, claiming to know who kidnapped “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie’s 84-year-old mother and her location.
Although Levine and TMZ executive producer and host Charles Latibeaudiere said in a social media video on Monday that the FBI never appeared to take action against the sender, they forwarded Monday’s letter to investigators and hoped for the best. Levine said his “Spider-Man sense told me there was something about this guy” and that he had a feeling the sender really “knew something.”
“Today we received another letter from this person, an email saying, ‘I know where her body is and who the kidnapper is. Give me half a Bitcoin and I’ll tell you.’ This person was very insistent and knew that if this was a scam, it was a federal crime,” Levine said at the top of the segment, embedded below.
“Yes, but they also made it clear that they wanted to make it clear that they had nothing to do with it, that they were out of the country — and who knows, we forwarded it to the FBI again, as we have in the past,” Lathibaudier added. “For whatever reason, that’s something we haven’t figured out yet, and you have to assume that law enforcement doesn’t think this guy is legitimate. Otherwise, they would have recommended that Savannah pay up.”
Levine doesn’t buy it, and he explains why.
“I’m telling you, my keen intuition told me that this guy had something, because he sent an email earlier saying, ‘Time is of the essence to do this,’ and then the next day he said, ‘Time is no longer of the essence,'” the founder said. “If he’s a scam, why would you say time doesn’t matter anymore? You want to keep the value high. The fact that he said that makes me think this guy knows something.”
Levine stressed that he was “not the FBI,” but LaThibaudier seemed to agree with that assessment.
“We don’t know everything about them,” he said, “but from the outside looking in, this person does seem to know something.”
The ransom letter was reportedly sent to TMZ on Monday morning, the same day Savannah returned to the Today show two months after she began searching for her missing mother.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI are continuing to lead the Arizona investigation into Nancy’s disappearance. In addition to the $100,000 FBI reward, Savannah is offering a $1 million reward for information leading to her mother’s recovery.
The senders of the TMZ ransom note are reportedly demanding “half a Bitcoin” to share information they have about Nancy’s whereabouts. As of the time of publication, one Bitcoin is worth $69,954.02.
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