Conflicting Nancy Guthrie ransom note reports add new twist to case

One of the most confusing mysteries in decades has taken another turn. As the search for Nancy Guthrie continues, there have been multiple ransom notes – some real, and some fake.

TMZ has been at the center with updates and has received 2 ransom notes that were verified by the FBI as legitimate. This week, a report from Air Mail  claimed that a source told them the ransom note TMZ received back in February included an apology for Nancy’s “inadvertent death.”

The report claimed that in the letter, the captors said that they were willing to give Nancy’s body to her family in exchange for money. 

However, according to TMZ, that’s not true, and the note did not include an apology or any explicit confirmation that Nancy had died. Harvey Levin said they wrote that she was scared but okay. 

© Getty Images

© Getty Images

The outlet said the only time she was ever described as dead was in a string of emails sent by an anonymous man who claimed to know both the identity of Nancy’s kidnappers and where she was being held.

In the first message, sent just days after Nancy’s abduction, the sender demanded one bitcoin in exchange for information, insisting that “time is of the essence.” He also made a point to say he was not one of the kidnappers.

© ZUMA Press

In a second email the following day, he allegedly wrote that “time is no longer of the essence.” Levin said he believed it was a chilling suggestion that Nancy was no longer alive. 

Over the following weeks, the sender continued to reach out, claiming Nancy had been taken to Mexico and saying he needed payment because sharing information would force him to go into hiding for fear of retaliation. Levin said the emailer effectively wanted $100k. 

TMZ says it has been in contact with the FBI since the beginning.  According to the outlet, they floated the idea of paying the requested money to see where the trail might lead for a documentary, but only if investigators believed it could help and would not interfere with the case or harm Nancy’s family.

The FBI reportedly called the idea “interesting” and said they would follow up. Now TMZ claims the FBI hasn’t returned any of their calls. 

Levin also alleged that the FBI deposited around $270 into the bitcoin account from the ransom note to try to find the person’s identity, but they were unsuccessful. 

Savannah Guthrie has since returned to work, but has admitted that the guilt has been overwhelming, even questioning if her own visibility somehow played a role. “I’m so sorry, Mommy,” she said through tears in her first interview since the kidnapping. “If it is me, I’m so sorry.” But the hardest part is the uncertainty. “We still don’t know anything,” she said. “We cannot be at peace without answers.”