Former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer has revealed to Newsweek that she received four ransom notes tied to the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie in April, messages she believes were sent by scammers seeking to take advantage of the huge public interest in the case. Coffindaffer said she received four emails over the course of two days to a personal email address, demanding payment in bitcoin for Guthrie’s release and an AI-generated image appearing to depict Guthrie, who was reported missing in early 2026. Serpa said she received a ransom demand in late September that claimed Guthrie was alive in Mexico and directed her to send bitcoin in exchange for her release.
The Pima County Sheriff's Department has said investigators have determined that note was “not credible.” In a statement, the sheriff’s department said that anyone “who receives a text message or other communication related to Nancy Guthrie is encouraged to report it to law enforcement. Do not send money or provide personal information in response to unsolicited messages. Investigators will continue to review reported messages for credibility and investigate any potential attempts at extortion.
The Nancy Guthrie investigation remains active and ongoing.” Newsweek has contacted the sheriff’s department and the FBI for further comment via email. Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie, was last seen at her home in the Catalina Foothills near Tucson, Arizona, on January 31. She was reported missing the following day.
Authorities believe she was kidnapped, abducted or otherwise taken against her will and said that drops of her blood were found near the front doorstep. In mid-February, the FBI released surveillance footage from a camera outside her home showing a masked individual outside the residence on the night she disappeared and added that this person was considered a suspect. More than eight months later, there’s been no sign of her and authorities have not identified a suspect or provided the public with any major breakthroughs in the case that has captured national attention.
Coffindaffer said the emails, which Newsweek has reviewed, were all sent to a personal email address of hers that she shares with few people, and some addressed her using a middle name she does not publicly go by. She said the first message arrived at 12:30 p.m. on April 10 and featured only what appeared to be an AI-generated image of Guthrie. Newsweek has reviewed the image but is not publishing it.
At 12:37 p.m., another email arrived from the same address, with a demand for 25 bitcoins in exchange for Guthrie’s release along with a Bible reference and the same AI-generated image depicting Guthrie. The image included in those emails, she said, bear similarities to an image of Guthrie in the video sent to Serpa, which she believes was AI-generated. Coffindaffer said she received another email at 3:52 p.m. on April 10 that basically reiterated the demand of 25 bitcoins for Guthrie’s release.
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