Nancy Guthrie ransom demand: NBC News Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie's 84-year-old mother Nancy Guthrie's reported abduction has been in the spotlight for a week now. And there is increasing anxiety among the family after the last deadline for a $6 million bitcoin ransom demand ended on 9 February.

On Monday (9 February), Savannah issued a new video during “an hour of desperation" requesting help from the public amid her mother's heart condition (she has a pacemaker) and requirement of regular medication for high blood pressure. Nancy is believed to have been kidnapped from her home in Tucson, Arizona (USA), either late on January 31 or early on February 1, triggering nationwide search efforts.

According to a report by Fortune, the abductors demanded $6 million in Bitcoin as ransom by 5 pm 9 February (Monday). This was originally reported by local Arizona TV station, KGUN9, which said it got a ransom note.

The initial demand was for $4 million Bitcoin, before it was increased to $6 million, as per other reports. Law enforcement officials (FBI and Pima County Sheriff’s Department) have not yet confirmed the legitimacy of any of the ransom notes sent to media organisations.

The Fortune report cited blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis to state that in order to make the payment, the Guthrie family would have to open an account with a crypto exchange or send the money through an intermediary to the wallet specified by the abductors.

There is a chance that once the deposit is made, and accessed by the wallet owner, law enforcement can use blockchain forensics to track the associated address, seize the funds or intercept the transaction, the report added. They would however need to act quickly.

Till time of writing, there was no update on whether the ransom payment was made. According to a report by the New York Post, the Bitcoin account given by kidnappers showed zero balance and zero transactions.

(With inputs from Agencies)

Stay updated with the latest Trending, India , World and US news.

Download the Mint app and read premium stories