When high-profile cases of missing persons are involved, a second crisis is likely: opportunists who interpret grief and urgency as a bargaining tool. During the hunt of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, an ex-FBI agent came out publicly to challenge that a series of messages mailed to the media houses are not much but a way of siphoning cash and attention.
Chris Swecker, a former assistant director of the FBI, stated that he is extremely doubtful of a third supposed message sent to TMZ and that it might be a case of “bad actors looking to capitalize on the ongoing situation.” “I just don’t think anything TMZ has brought forward has panned out. I mean it’s a good vehicle for people to come in and do this, TMZ gets some viewership and it sort of ties up the investigative team trying to run this down. But I sense a scam here,” Swecker said.
That worry falls into a time when families, neighbors and Internet bystanders are set up to accept any “new lead” as the crack of the whip. TMZ host Harvey Levin reported that he was sent a letter that he described as rather strange, which alleged that the author knew the identity of the kidnapper and wanted one Bitcoin in exchange to reveal it. Levin remarked that the outlet was in a position to only verify that the Bitcoin address was active, but not the credibility of the message.
This is not the first time that a Bitcoin-for-information pair came into the spotlight of the case. In another message reported in coverage, the server complained that the sender told them, “I am not being taken seriously,” and again he was demanding one bitcoin in exchange to the name of the alleged kidnapper and that he was afraid to be attacked back. In the former, the individual also claimed that it would be the final request and mentioned a man who had been interrogated and freed.
These types of communications may introduce noise to the investigators, competing with actual leads. By issuing additional identifying information associated with doorbell-camera footage as well as by doubling the reward to $100,000, the FBI has attempted to enlist populace assistance. The agency also reported they have had more than 13,000 tips, and it emphasized how fast attention can swamp a case, and how easy it can be to conceal oneself in a crowd of people falsely claiming to be a “tipster.”
That risk is not theoretical. In Arizona, law enforcement officials have been investigating claims that one individual took himself to the case by posing as an abductor. A text message delivered in that case by a VOIP (internet) telephone line indicated: Did you get the bitcoin were [sic] waiting on our end to complete the transaction. The investigators indicated that the line was detected and traced down to an account, and the accused was subsequently released on condition that he should not have any contact with people he was being observed.
These episodes demonstrate why law enforcement keeps on requesting tips, particularly tips channeled through social media, email, or other media organizations to be sent to law enforcement. According to Swecker, such messages have “tie up the investigative team,” energy diverted to evidence, verified video, and reliable reports of the community. The hunt goes on, yet the parallel issue is evident, in the sense that when money requires comes with a sense of urgency, it becomes skeptical as though it were a shield of protection to the families and to the investigation itself.
