As the search for Savannah Guthrie’s missing 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie, continues, an expert in crypto recovery has said that the alleged abductor made a mistake in the ransom note.
Speaking to Page Six, Bezalel Eithan Raviv, the CEO and founder of crypto recovery service Lionsgate Network, said the person who wrote the alleged ransom note “showed his Achilles to everyone who understands blockchain forensics.”
The ransom note, which TMZ received last week, reportedly demanded $6 million in Bitcoin, along with a Bitcoin wallet address. TMZ verified the wallet address was legitimate.
Raviv said this was the biggest mistake the alleged abductor could have made. “Whenever cyber criminals offer their wallet address is where they basically reveal themselves in many ways,” he explained, noting that his company has recovered money by sending small amounts to crypto wallets to “see where it lands.”
“This is a very simple tactic among many that we utilize when we want to be able to intercept criminal network crypto assets,” he added. “That’s from our perspective based on previous cases that have been incredibly successful.”
Raviv said the issue is that there is still a lot of misconception around crypto and blockchain technology. “Most people still, in 2026, do not believe you can trace crypto,” he said, including those working in law enforcement.
“We need to train our law enforcement agents with blockchain forensics and crypto, or find the right people to do the job,” he added
Raviv said more information can be gleaned when the person “cashes out” the crypto, stating that they’ll eventually want to “enjoy that money.”
“Bigger picture, when you send crypto, you send a code. You don’t send a suitcase with cash that you can pay for gas, bills, clothes, food, right?” he told the outlet. “You send a code to someone from one wallet to another wallet… You cannot eat off of code. You cannot buy things out of a code. If you want to cash them out, it has to be met with a crypto exchange.”
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Pima County authorities believe Nancy may have been abducted or kidnapped from her home in Tucson, Arizona, on January 31. When deputies arrived at the residence, they discovered what they described as “concerning evidence,” and they are treating the home as a potential crime scene.
On Saturday (February 7), Savannah and her siblings, sister Annie Guthrie, and brother Camron Guthrie, posted a new video in which they specifically addressed the potential captor.
“We received your message, and we understand,” Savannah said, adding, “We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace… This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”
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