A former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent is proposing an unusual — and potentially expensive — strategy to help break the case of missing Arizona woman Nancy Guthrie.
According to the ex-agent, Savannah Guthrie and the rest of the Nancy Guthrie family might consider paying a portion of the cryptocurrency ransom being demanded in disturbing messages, in hopes it could generate a lead on her whereabouts, the New York Post reports.
Qué reveló la nueva nota de rescate para Nancy Guthrie https://t.co/fe2TgjJfjR
— La Voz Arizona (@LaVozaz) April 10, 2026
Earlier this week, two alleged ransom notes were sent to TMZ demanding one bitcoin — roughly valued at $72,000 — in exchange for information tied to the 84-year-old’s abduction from her home. The messages also claimed the kidnappers could be handed over on a “silver platter.”
Former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer suggested testing the demand by sending part of the payment to observe how it is handled. “Tickling the wire in this case would be putting half a bitcoin and seeing what happens to it,” she told Newsweek. “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?” she said, referencing claims in the notes that Guthrie may have been taken across the border into Mexico.
“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,” she added.
Authorities have scrambled to investigate ever since Guthrie was abducted from her Tucson home on Feb. 1, but have yet to name any suspects or announce any major developments in the case. Dozens of purported ransom notes have been sent to authorities in the weeks since Guthrie vanished, many of them addressed to TMZ.
The latest communications reportedly came from the same anonymous sender who initially demanded one bitcoin about two months earlier. In one of the recent notes, the sender claimed the grandmother had died, though the earlier offer to “deliver [the kidnappers] on a silver platter” remained in place. A second message contradicted that claim, alleging that Guthrie had been seen alive with her captors in Mexico’s Sonora region.
Nancy Guthrie
Breaking
Below is what Harvey Levin had to say about the new ransom note.
Make no mistake, the fact this note was sent on the day Savannah returned to work shows you what a sick creature the sender is, whether they know where Nancy is buried or they don’t.… pic.twitter.com/n119IRysFx
— Jennifer Coffindaffer (@CoffindafferFBI) April 6, 2026
The timing of the messages coincided with an emotional moment for Guthrie’s daughter, Savannah Guthrie, who returned to NBC’s Today show for the first time since her mother’s disappearance.
Renowned DNA expert CeCe Moore believes there may still be a path forward—starting with another search for genetic evidence inside Guthrie’s home, News Nation reports. Moore explained that earlier DNA samples collected from the residence were “mixed,” meaning they contained genetic material from multiple individuals—a common complication in forensic investigations.
“I think there are a lot of efforts to be able to improve our ability (to deconvolute DNA samples) because we run into that so often with sexual assaults, or as the technology becomes more sensitive with transfer DNA, the ability to detect the tiniest amount of DNA that someone leaves behind really increases the likelihood you’re going to get a mixture, right? Like on a doorknob, for instance,” she said during an appearance on Brian Entin Investigates.
She noted that companies assisting law enforcement in building DNA profiles are now “using whole genome sequencing,” but acknowledged that “right now there’s really no good techniques to deconvolute on those,” highlighting the technical challenges involved.
Despite those limitations, Moore remains optimistic that Nancy Guthrie disappearance investigators could still uncover a usable DNA sample. She suggested authorities may “get another chance” at “finding a good source of DNA” if they revisit the Arizona home, emphasizing her belief that whoever abducted Guthrie likely left some trace behind.
Drawing from comments made by Sheriff Chris Nanos, Moore theorized that new tools could soon help crack the Nancy Guthrie case. She said it’s possible that “companies or a company was planning to release a new mixture deconvolution software” in the near future, but that timeline may have accelerated due to the intense attention surrounding Guthrie’s disappearance.
“I suspect there are a number of people that are working as fast as they can, trying to figure out a way to work with these more complex mixtures,” Moore said. “Nancy’s case is certainly the one that’s making this a top priority, but it’s something we really need in the field anyway.”
If investigators are unable to obtain a viable DNA sample from Nancy Guthrie’s home, Moore said another potential breakthrough could come from locating a second crime scene. “The really sad part is if they find her body, if she’s deceased, that gives them another opportunity,” she admitted. “So I don’t think it’s the end.”
She concluded by stressing the importance of returning to the original scene at the home of Nancy Guthrie if no new leads emerge. “If a second crime scene isn’t found soon or Nancy isn’t found soon, then the next best thing would be to return to that known crime scene [at her home] to see if they can find DNA,” Moore said. “Because if [the perpetrator] was there for 40 or 42 minutes, which I’ve heard is a theory, then it’s almost impossible not to leave your DNA behind.”
