Nancy Guthrie case: Ex-FBI agent gets ransom note, spots two red flags

The Nancy Guthrie investigation has taken another unusual turn after former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer revealed that she too received a ransom note linked to the missing Arizona woman.

Coffindaffer, who has been sharing her views on the case, said the message sent to her was not from Nancy Guthrie’s alleged abductors. However, she said the incident was still significant because the sender appeared to have access to personal information that was not publicly available.

Her disclosure came after Lauren Serpa, a friend of Nancy who maintains a memorial outside her home, recently reported receiving a ransom demand. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department later said that note was fake.

Ex-FBI agent flags two details

Coffindaffer shared a screenshot of the ransom note she received and pointed to two details that immediately stood out to her.

First, the sender addressed her using her middle name—something she does not use herself. Second, the message was sent to a private personal email address.

For a former law enforcement officer, the apparent access to information she had not publicly shared raised concerns. Coffindaffer said she reported the emails to her former colleagues.

“Of course, I reported the emails to the FBI in April,” she noted.

Coffindaffer also explained why she had not spoken publicly about the messages earlier. According to her, the photograph included in the note she received was the same image that had been sent to Serpa.

“No, the ransom demand was not from the abductors, but real nevertheless less,” Coffindaffer wrote on X.

She said the people behind the messages should be identified, arguing that the scam could potentially target others who may be more likely to respond to such demands.

“These fraudsters should be identified. I realize they are overseas, but they need shut down because this isn't their only scam. Just because we didn't bite doesn't mean that some other unsuspecting kind hearted person won't,” she added.

What happened to the other ransom note?

Serpa's message demanded payment in bitcoin and claimed that Nancy was being held in Mexico by a mafia boss. It also attempted to implicate Annie Guthrie and Tommaso Cioni.

Serpa had questioned the authenticity of the demand because the sender appeared to rely only on information already available publicly about Nancy’s disappearance. The note was subsequently determined to be fake.

Reuters has also reported that the FBI determined earlier ransom notes connected to the case were not genuine.

Nancy Guthrie remains missing

Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of TODAY show host Savannah Guthrie, was reported missing on February 1. Authorities believe she was taken from her home in the Catalina Foothills area near Tucson, Arizona, the previous night.

More than seven months later, no suspect has been publicly identified in the case. One masked man captured on surveillance footage has drawn significant public attention and has been dubbed “Porch Guy” online.