An expert on kidnappings said Savannah Guthrie’s family’s latest video offering to pay ransom shows they are responding as if her mother Nancy Guthrie is alive and being held, calling it a clear, unconditional signal to whoever is on the other end.
Retired FBI agent Jason Pack, who has worked abduction cases, told The Post that the message released Saturday by Savannah Guthrie and her siblings Camron and Annie stripped away any ambiguity.
“That family got on camera and said ‘we will pay.’ No conditions, no fine print, no lawyers talking in circles,” Pack said.
“Just a mother’s children saying bring her home and we’ll do what we need to do.”
Pack said the wording marked a decisive turn, shifting pressure off the family and onto whoever has Nancy.
He pointed to Savannah’s use of the word “celebrate” as intentional, signaling that the family wants their mother back alive and is not seeking revenge.
“That’s a family telling whoever’s on the other end of this… we’re not out for blood. We just want her back,” he said.
He noted the family’s statement appears to answer a reported Monday deadline, set by whoever sent the message.
“The family has answered. They said yes,” Pack said. “So now either this thing moves forward or it doesn’t — and if it doesn’t, it won’t be because the Guthries didn’t hold up their end.”
Former CIA official Tracy Walder, who was also a special agent for the FBI, offered a more cautious read, focusing on the tone and phrasing of the video.
She described it as carefully constructed and responsive to an external message, noting phrases like “very valuable to us” and “so we can celebrate her” are unusual in everyday speech.
Walder said the delivery was more muted and somber than the family’s first video.
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