Nancy Guthrie Case: Expert Says Family May Have to Make Risky Choice to Help Crack the Case

As Nancy Guthrie remains untraceable more than two months after her disappearance, an expert says there is only one way the case can be solved, though it may be expensive for the family. A ransom seeker, who previously contacted media outlets in February, once again sent two notes to TMZ on April 6.

The sender claimed that Nancy was already dead, but they would reveal where her body is in exchange for half a bitcoin. The ransom seeker also said that they would need another half a bitcoin to provide information about the kidnapper.

Even though it is unclear whether the demands are legitimate, former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer believes paying the ransom is worth a shot. “Tickling the wire in this case would be putting half a bitcoin and seeing what happens to it,” Coffindaffer said in a statement to Newsweek.

A bitcoin currently amounts to about $72,000, far less than the $1 million reward promised by Nancy’s family. In the ransom note, the sender mentioned that they lived outside the US and had last seen Nancy in Sonora, Mexico.

Coffindaffer says it will be interesting to see what the ransom seeker does with the money. She wondered, “Do they take it? Do they convert it to pesos? It's internationally tracked. How does it come out into currency? Do they just leave it there?”

The former FBI agent agreed that paying the money would be a risky choice, since the notes could very well be fake. However, she added that she would still want the family to take a chance, as there are no concrete leads in Nancy’s case so far.

“Once it's gone, it's going to be gone. But I would want that last bread crumb. I think it would be worth it to me,” Coffindaffer remarked. She went on to add that even if the person is a scammer, transferring them half a bitcoin would at least make them stop distracting the investigators.

“I think it's very unlikely [that the ransom seeker has any information], but minimally you might be able get this extortionist off the street. For $34,000, that's a cheap price,” she highlighted. In one of the two notes sent to TMZ, the anonymous sender stated that the investigators are wasting millions of dollars when they can have all the information they want for just one bitcoin.

“She [Nancy] is dead. 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 its finest,” read the note.

After receipt of the note, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department stated that all leads are being taken seriously. However, authorities have not announced whether they believe Nancy is actually dead. The 84-year-old woman went missing on February 1. She was in fragile health at the time and needed critical medication daily, which was left behind.