Claims of Nancy Guthrie’s Death Meant to Torment Guthrie Family : Ex-FBI Agent

A former FBI agent says newly surfaced ransom notes sent to TMZ involving Nancy Guthrie appear designed to torment the family, particularly Savannah Guthrie, who had returned to NBC’s Today show.

TMZ received the first note on April 6, the same day Savannah Guthrie returned to the morning show after two months.

The message, which offered information about the alleged kidnapper, reportedly read: “She is dead. I know where her body is and who the kidnapper is. Give me a bitcoin, and I’ll tell you.”

Law enforcement expert Jennifer Coffindaffer pointed to the timing of the note. “They sent these right when Savannah Guthrie went back to work. That was by no mistake, that was absolutely meant to further torment her and her family,” she told Newsweek.

Coffindaffer added: “I think it speaks to the fact that there is at least someone out there that is still willing to torture this family by sending these continued communications with no proof of life.”

The sender also claimed, “I saw her alive with them in the state of Sonora Mexico.”

They further alleged they are “willing to deliver the kidnappers on a silver platter.”

“It’s unbelievable that millions have been wasted and yet here I am willing to deliver them on a silver platter since the 11th of february for a bitcoin but I am disregarded as a scam ... they are free and the case is frozen but the ego’s remain hot when it comes to me. Arrogance at it’s finest,” the TMZ note said.

In a second note, the individual insisted they were not motivated by greed. “I just want whats fair and to live peacefully with enough to start my life again quietly with out having to join a witness protection program,” they said.

Nancy Guthrie has been missing from her Catalina Foothills home since February 1, after attending a family dinner the previous night.

Guthrie was expected to attend an online church service the following morning, but when she could not be reached, family and friends alerted authorities.

Authorities discovered blood on her front porch, and a masked individual was captured on a Ring doorbell camera. Despite these developments, investigators have not determined her whereabouts. The FBI has since put up billboards and launched a tip line to aid the search.

Coffindaffer also raised doubts about the credibility of the messages, noting the relatively small demand.

“Why wouldn’t they go forward and try to seek the $1.2 million that’s out on the table if they truly have knowledge?” she said.

“The reason this makes sense to me, that they don’t have that knowledge, is because they’re not seeking the $1.2 million. Instead, they’re trying to subvert it with this… quickly paid, no hoops to jump through, just get the money. But I think that these people are scammers.”

Coffindaffer said “no proof of life or death is equal to empty money demand.”