Two New Ransom Notes Surface in Nancy Guthrie Case – Major Twist in the Investigation

Just when the case seemed to stall, two cryptic emails landed in TMZ’s inbox, each more unsettling than the last. They each hinted at secrets, fear, and a desperate plea for cold, hard cryptocurrency.

A Brazen Bitcoin Demand Raises Alarms

TMZ reported that it received an email on Wednesday, February 12, from a person claiming to know the identity of Nancy’s alleged kidnapper. The sender demanded one bitcoin in exchange for the name — a staggering sum currently valued at about $65,000.

According to the outlet, the digital wallet listed in the message was monitored throughout the day, but no funds were deposited. The account sat untouched, the demand unmet, as questions swirled about whether the sender truly possessed inside information — or was exploiting a family’s nightmare.

But the story did not end there. Just after 8 a.m. PT on Thursday, the outlet said it received a second email from the same individual. In that message, the sender wrote that he was “not being taken seriously.” The tone, according to the outlet, had shifted.

TMZ stated that the email contained additional statements it described as ominous, but said it is withholding specific details while cooperating with law enforcement. Whatever was written was serious enough for the outlet to keep it under wraps — a decision that only deepens the sense of dread surrounding the case.

The sender indicated that circumstances had changed between Wednesday and Thursday. He claimed he would need the money to “lay low” after revealing the alleged kidnapper’s identity, citing concerns about possible retaliation.

Then came a striking reference to a previous development in the case. The sender also mentioned the delivery driver who was previously detained and released, saying he feared being “incriminated like that Carlos guy.”

It was a pointed remark — one that appeared to draw a direct line to earlier investigative missteps and heightened anxieties about wrongful suspicion. The message concluded with what the sender described as his final attempt to help. As of the time of this publication, no bitcoin or money has been transferred to the account referenced in the emails.

We previously reported that the sender decided to contact TMZ after claiming they had tried and failed to reach Nancy’s devastated children, Camron and Annie, by email and text.

While the note included a valid Bitcoin address, it was not the same wallet address listed in the original ransom notes previously sent to TMZ and two Tucson television stations. TMZ said it immediately forwarded the new message to the FBI.

Armed Figure, Detained Driver – And More Questions than Answers

The new development comes less than 48 hours after a cascade of dramatic updates in the case. On Tuesday, the FBI released the first haunting images of an armed individual who appeared outside Nancy’s home in the early hours of February 1 — the same day she was taken.

Later that night, authorities detained a person of interest described as a delivery driver in a Tucson suburb. After questioning, he was released. He told reporters he did not know Nancy.

The latest notes also follow earlier reports that a separate ransom message had been sent to a local Arizona news station — another thread in a web of uncertainty that seems to grow more tangled by the hour.

The First Ransom Note and a Sheriff’s Stark Words

On February 3, it was first revealed that a ransom note had been delivered to a Tucson television outlet in the days after Nancy vanished. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told CBS News that the station received the message on Monday and initially agreed not to report on it.

According to Chris, the note included specific details about Nancy’s home and what she was wearing the night she disappeared — chilling information that raised immediate alarm. He did not confirm whether those details were accurate or whether the note itself was authentic.

“It’s like any piece of evidence,” Chris said. “You give it to us, you give us a lead, we’re going to look at every aspect of that lead.”

While the sheriff declined to identify the station, CBS affiliate KOLD-TV later reported that it had received an email appearing to be one of the alleged ransom notes and had forwarded it directly to the sheriff’s office. Investigators analyzed the message and confirmed they were treating it seriously.

Deadlines, Doubt, and a Race Against the Clock

At the time, FBI Special Agent in Charge Heith Janke revealed that the ransom letter included two deadlines — the first set for 5 p.m. that same day, and a second listed for Monday, February 8. Authorities did not specify a time zone for either deadline.

“In a normal kidnapping case, there would be contact by now, trying to discuss that,” Heith said. His words only heightened the anxiety surrounding Nancy’s fate. As the investigation intensified, troubling questions emerged about how authorities managed to obtain the first images of a masked man spotted outside Nancy Guthrie’s home.

According to CNN, recovering the footage required significant technical assistance from Google. A person familiar with the investigation described the process as complex and uncertain. Investigators were not even sure it would work. Yet within hours of finally obtaining the footage, the FBI released the images to the public.

Earlier, Sheriff Chris had said there was no video available because Nancy did not have a subscription to Google’s cloud service, which stores footage from Nest cameras.

But in a dramatic reversal, FBI Director Kash Patel later stated that authorities had worked closely with their private-sector partners and had recovered video from residual data in backend systems.

A Delivery Driver Speaks Out – And the Internet Reacts

Meanwhile, attention briefly swirled around the detained delivery driver. In an interview with Fox News reporter Matt Finn, the man — identified as Carlos Palazuelos — was asked whether he may have delivered a package to Nancy’s home. He responded that there might be a possibility.

Online, the case has ignited a storm of speculation, fear, and heartbreak. “This is getting crazier by the day! Hope that lady is alive and ok!” one person wrote.

Others expressed deep sympathy for the family enduring the nightmare. “This poor family. They’ve been through enough,” another comment read. And as rumors swirled about the latest Bitcoin demand, one commenter suggested authorities might already be closing in. “They gave a name and email guess FBI will be there soon.”

For now, Nancy remains missing — and the clock, as one anonymous sender ominously warned, may be ticking.