Ransom note suggests 'skilled' kidnappers in Nancy Guthrie case

The ransom note in Nancy Guthrie's disappearance suggests the kidnappers were experienced, Tucson ABC affiliate KGUN9 reported, after demanding the Guthrie family pay $6 million in bitcoin by Monday, Feb. 9 at 5 p.m. MT. Tracy Walder, a former CIA member and FBI special agent, said 'this person definitely knows what they're doing' and appeared to have planned the operation.

Walder pointed to technical choices in the note, such as encrypted email and use of a VPN, and to the decision to ask for bitcoin as signs of deliberate planning. She noted the kidnappers have released only two ransom notes and otherwise gone dark, which limits opportunities for investigators to trace them.

Bitcoin payments and online laundering add another layer of difficulty, Walder said, calling it 'money that would be laundered online' and explaining that laundering between accounts can slow tracing. She added that the FBI is improving its ability to trace bitcoin, but those steps can buy the perpetrators time.

United States, Tucson, Arizona

nancy guthrie, ransom note, kidnapping, bitcoin, encrypted email, vpn, bitcoin tracing, online laundering, tracy walder, fbi