TMZ gets third email in Nancy Guthrie case as tipster demands money for info on 'main individual'

TUCSON, ARIZONA: On Friday, February 13, TMZ received a third email from a man claiming to know the identity of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie’s abductors, marking a complex turn in the investigation into her disappearance.

The sender is demanding money in exchange for information and has indicated that these messages represent the final contact. Law enforcement and media outlets are carefully reviewing these communications as the search continues.

Third email from tipster raises new questions about Nancy Guthrie's disappearance

In this message, the sender demanded $100,000 from the FBI in exchange for information, warning that this would be the last contact. Previously, the person had asked for one Bitcoin, worth about $65,000, but now has raised the demand to match the FBI’s doubled reward.

The sender proposed depositing $50,000 in Bitcoin immediately in exchange for “the name of the main individual along with his information for you to track,” according to the email. The phrase “main individual” suggests for the first time that more than one person may be involved in Guthrie’s disappearance, TMZ founder Harvey Levin told NewsNation.

The sender indicated they would not release the initial $50,000 payment until an arrest was made, at which point they expected the FBI to deposit the remaining $50,000. 

Levin noted that the sender’s language, describing a “gamble… for his safety and his possible freedom,” implies they may be “close to the flame” and worried about being implicated. The email also warned authorities to “be prepared to go international” in pursuing the “main individual,” which Levin interpreted as possibly indicating Mexico.

TMZ co-executive producer Charles Latibeaudiere confirmed that all three tip emails included the same Bitcoin address and used different names and fabricated email addresses.

The first email, sent on Wednesday, demanded $50,000 for the abductor’s identity and said it would be the sender’s last contact, while Thursday’s email added more specifics. The latest email addressed the FBI directly.

Public response and law enforcement actions to Nancy Guthrie's disappearance

The sender also expressed distrust and concern for their safety, “Look, to the FBI, I don’t trust you, and you don’t trust me, so I’m going to go through TMZ, because I don’t really trust you at all,” according to Levin.

The three tip emails are separate from an initial ransom note received by TMZ and two Tucson television stations on February 1 and 2, which demanded millions of dollars in Bitcoin and set two deadlines that have since passed.

Levin said the ransom note “stands on its own separately” from the three tip emails, although Latibeaudiere noted that the writing style across all four communications “sounds like exactly the same person,” and the recent tip emails reference the earlier messages.

Latibeaudiere also said that members of the public have contacted TMZ offering to pay the money demanded by the tipster, “They can’t figure out why the FBI won’t pay the money, They’re basically all saying, like, ‘Pay this guy, and let’s get the information. Let’s get Nancy Guthrie home safely.’”

Meanwhile, law enforcement activity has intensified. The Pima County Sheriff’s Office had an airplane in the air Friday afternoon, potentially for search-and-rescue and aerial surveillance. At the same time, a mobile command center was seen leaving the sheriff’s office, with a SWAT team being activated.