In one 30-minute stretch, three Minneapolis legal observers were arrested as ICE ramped up its targeting of community volunteers.

In one 30-minute stretch, three Minneapolis legal observers were arrested as ICE ramped up its targeting of community volunteers.

In one 30-minute stretch, three Minneapolis legal observers were arrested as ICE ramped up its targeting of community volunteers.

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The case took another bizarre turn Wednesday morning when TMZ announced that the outlet received a letter demanding a payment of one bitcoin — about $67,000 — in exchange for the name of Guthrie's kid...

In one 30-minute stretch, three Minneapolis legal observers were arrested as ICE ramped up its targeting of community volunteers.

ICE raids have left children stranded without caregivers after school bus drop-off. Abductions traumatize whole schools.

ICE raids have left children stranded without caregivers after school bus drop-off. Abductions traumatize whole schools.

In one 30-minute stretch, three Minneapolis legal observers were arrested as ICE ramped up its targeting of community volunteers.

As the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie continues to develop, it has sparked renewed questions about kidnappings for ransom, how common they are, and how they typically unfold in the United States. According to The Associated Press, there are three primary types of hostage situations, and kidnapping for ransom is the least common in the U.S., per Scott Tillema, a retired SWAT hostage negotiator in Illinois. While the FBI tracks kidnapping cases broadly, publicly available data does not break out specific figures for ransom-only cases. Department of Justice research helps provide context. A DOJ study found that so-called “stereotypical” stranger abductions of children, where a child is taken, held, or transported by someone unknown, occur roughly 100 times per year nationwide. With approximately 72 million children in the U.S., that equates to a risk of about 1 in 720,000, according to DOJ findings, underscoring how rare true stranger kidnappings are. Are the Cartels involved? In Guthrie’s case, some online speculation has centered on possible cartel involvement. A former Pima County Sheriff’s Department lieutenant said that was a possibility but described it as far-fetched, as reported by Newsweek. Guthrie was abducted from her home in Tucson’s Catalina Foothills, about 90 minutes from the southern border. In prior years, the FBI’s El Paso Field Office has warned about spikes in cartel-linked kidnapping and extortion schemes in border regions. Still, there have been no official statements linking cartel activity to this case. Law enforcement agents check vegetation areas around Nancy Guthrie’s home in Tucson, Ariz., Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil) While ransom kidnappings are rare, history shows they can draw global attention when they occur. High profile extortion cases The South China Morning Post reported that Hong Kong billionaire Teddy Wang was kidnapped in 1983, with roughly $11 million reportedly paid for his release. He was abducted again in 1990, and about $34 million was reportedly paid, but he was never seen again, according to The New York Times. In the U.S., Patty Hearst was kidnapped in 1974 by the Symbionese Liberation Army, which demanded millions in food distribution programs. Her family provided about $2 million in aid, according to The New York Times. A year earlier, John Paul Getty III was kidnapped in Italy. After an initial $17 million demand and the mailing of part of his ear to a newspaper, a reduced ransom of about $2.2 million was paid, as reported by Stanford Magazine. The bottom line: while high-profile ransom cases often involve staggering sums and dramatic twists, federal data shows that true stranger abductions, and by extension ransom kidnappings, remain exceptionally rare in the United States.