Savannah Guthrie latest: Deadline for ransom note imminent on ninth day of search for presenter’s kidnapped mother

Billy Bush says that NBC could “easily” pay the $6 million ransom that would allegedly lead to Nancy Guthrie’s release.

The TV presenter, who is the nephew of former President George W. Bush, said that the demands for payment have left him “very hopeful and optimistic.”

He made the remarks on Fox News’s show The Sunday Briefing, suggesting that paying the price for Guthrie’s release should be a “quick-hit send.”

“The report is that Monday by 5:00 o’clock they want a $6 million bitcoin ransom; that means Nancy Guthrie is well,” he alleged. “And $6 million for NBC is, well, a quick-hit send.

“They should be able to get that done very easily.”

Another former FBI official has questioned some of the details of Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance.

Former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker questioned whether Nancy was even kidnapped during an appearance on Fox News’The Big Weekend Show.

He says that the alleged kidnappers’ demands don’t make sense and wondered why they have been so slow to provide a proof of life.

“If this was a kidnapping, it would be a very simple matter to authenticate and provide proof of life,” he said.

“I’m very skeptical of this,” Swecker continued. “Is this really a kidnapping? Does somebody really have her, and is she really alive?”

The change in the amount asked for by the alleged kidnappers stuck out as strange to Swecker too.

“Remember now, it was one million not too long ago. All of a sudden, it’s six million,” he said. “I really think there’s a third party here that’s just playing with them, opportunists who think they can exploit this situation.”

A former FBI agent has cast doubt on the authenticity of the ransom note sent to a variety of publications, demanding $6 million for the return of Nancy Guthrie.

The note had specified that the huge cash sum needed to be in “USD,” a detail that stuck out to former FBI agent Michael Harrigan.

“If you’re domestic, why would you ever put ‘USD?’ You put six million,” he toldThe New York Post.

“Why would you use that if you’re a domestic person?” he continued. “That points to somebody who might be potentially outside the country.”

Harrigan, who oversaw the FBI National Academy, also said the detail “lends the potential for this being a scam.”

Nancy Guthrie was first reported missing on February 1, after failing to appear at a church service she normally attended regularly.

A day earlier, she had dined with her daughter Annie and her son-in-law Tommaso Cioni.

After a night of board games and food, she returned to her home in Tucson. She was not seen again.

Authorities have confirmed that Guthrie took an Uber to get to Annie’s house. The driver of the car was said to be co-operating with the investigation and is not believed to be under investigation.

Cioni dropped Guthrie home, although police have not named him as a suspect.

“We’re actively looking at everybody we come across in this case, we would be irresponsible if we didn’t talk to everybody,” Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos. “Everybody’s still a suspect in our eyes.

“The family’s been very cooperative; they’ve done everything we’ve asked of them.”

Nancy Guthrie’s family have said that they will pay the amount given on an alleged ransom note, demanding millions in Bitcoin for the 84-year-old’s release.

Savannah Guthrie and her family released a video on Saturday, declaring their intention to pay the huge sum given in the note. However, authorities remain uncertain over the threatening letter’s authenticity.

NewsNation reporter Brian Entin is outside the home of Annie Guthrie, one of Nancy Guthrie’s daughters.

According to Entin, law enforcement personnel are inside the home. He said he can see lights flashing inside the house, which he believes to be camera flashes.

It’s unclear why law enforcement visited the home this evening.

Pima County sheriff’s deputies have left the Tucson-area home of Nancy Guthrie after arriving approximately an hour ago.

KVOA reporter Jacob Owens, who was on the scene, reported that the deputies have left.

A security guard in the neighborhood reportedly told Owens that the PCSD occasionally checks in on the property.

The Pima County deputies arrived at the home on Saturday evening, following the latest family video, according to KVOA reporter Jacob Owens.

On Saturday afternoon, the Pima County Sheriff’s Office issued a statement on its X account saying that it was not planning to hold any press briefings regarding the Nancy Guthrie investigation, pending a breaking development.

Several hours later, Savannah Guthrie and her siblings released a video saying they had apparently been in contact with the suspected kidnapper and “will pay” for their mother’s return.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Office has not issued any statements since the video was released.