Nancy Guthrie update: Ex-FBI agent shares ransom note theory

A former FBI agent has shared a theory about the purported ransom notes that were sent in connection with the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.

There has been still been no sign of the 84-year-old mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie since she was reported missing in early February, despite a massive search. 

In the days after she disappeared, multiple news outlets reported receiving ransom notes but authorities have not said whether any were authentic.

Referencing Savannah Guthrie’s responses to the senders of the notes, Jennifer Coffindaffer, a former special agent, said on X on Monday that the Today co-host’s efforts to reach out have sometimes been “religious.”

She wrote: “Initially, I thought it was because Savannah was religious. But what if the decision was made to use religion because Scripture was in the note?

“What if the notes were from someone quoting Scripture or referencing Scripture? Someone who sees themselves as holy?”

The Context 

Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of NBC’s Today co-host Savannah Guthrie, is now in its third month. She was last seen at her home on January 31 and reported missing on February 1 by her family. Authorities believe she was kidnapped and said drops of her blood were found on the front porch.

In February, the FBI released surveillance footage from a doorbell camera, showing a masked man, whom they called a suspect, outside Guthrie’s front door on the night she disappeared. Since then, investigators have not identified a suspect or provided details about any significant breakthroughs in the case.

What To Know

Coffindaffer’s post on X included a video that Savannah Guthrie initially posted on Instagram on February 16, where she directly addressed her mother’s abductor.

“You’re not lost or alone, and it is never too late to do the right thing. We are here. And we believe. And we believe in the essential goodness of every human being,” Savannah Guthrie said in the clip.

Coffindaffer wrote that Savannah Guthrie’s language may have been deliberate in order to connect with whoever sent the notes.

“To connect, you must connect with the place the ransom note writer is coming from, not the lens of the respondent,” she wrote.

In an interview on the Today show last month, Savannah Guthrie said she believed most of the ransom notes sent to her family were fake, but that the two notes the family responded to were real.

She also discussed the possibility that her mother’s kidnapping was motivated by her money.

She recalled a phone conversation with her brother, who told her that he thought their mother had been kidnapped for ransom. She said she had asked him if he believed it could have been because of her, and he said yes.

“But I knew that,” she said. “I hope not. I mean, we still don’t know. Honestly, we don’t know anything. So I don’t know that it’s because she’s my mom and somebody thought: ‘Oh, that lady has money, we can make a quick buck.’ I mean, that would make sense, but we don’t know.”

She said she had come to terms with that “probably” being the case, adding that it was “too much to bear.”

Last month, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, who is leading the investigation, said in an interview with NBC News that investigators believe they know the motive for the crime, but he did not elaborate, citing the integrity of the investigation.

“It’s come out from day one,” Nanos said. “From day one, we had strong beliefs about what happened and those beliefs haven’t diminished.”

A spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department told Newsweek last month that Nanos and investigators “have theories about why the incident happened, but would not go into details as this is an active investigation.”

Coffindaffer previously told Newsweek that those comments indicate that investigators believe Nancy Guthrie was kidnapped for ransom.

“What were they looking at at the beginning? Kidnapping for ransom, kidnapping for ransom, that was the entirety of the theme. That’s why they had the family go on television, making social media posts, making this plea, that’s why they orchestrated all of that,” she said.

Last week, TMZ reported receiving two ransom notes from a person asking for payment in cryptocurrency for information about Nancy Guthrie’s kidnappers. The notes came on the same day that Savannah Guthrie returned to work following a two-month absence.

What Happens Next

The investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance remains ongoing. Anyone with information is urged to contact 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), 520-351-4900 or 88-CRIME or visit tips.fbi.gov.