The mother of “Today” anchor Savannah Guthrie has been missing for more than two months.

Former FBI agent weighs in on latest Nancy Guthrie ransom notes: ‘These people are scammers’

The mother of "Today" anchor Savannah Guthrie has been missing for more than two months.

By Marina Watts

Marina Watts

Marina Watts is a news writer for with seven years experience covering entertainment, pop culture and celebrity news. Her previous work appears in PEOPLE, Bustle and Newsweek.

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April 9, 2026 1:27 p.m. ET

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Nancy Guthrie in April 2019. Credit:

Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

- A former FBI agent says the timing of the latest ransom notes connected to the Nancy Guthrie missing person case is "no mistake."

- The notes were sent the same day her daughter Savannah returned as a *Today *anchor.

- Nancy was last seen on Jan. 31 outside her home in Arizona. A police and FBI investigation into her disappearance continues.

A former FBI agent has weighed in on the most recent ransom notes allegedly connected to the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.

TMZ reported that it had received two notes on Monday, April 6, the same day Nancy's daughter, *Today* anchor Savannah Guthrie, returned to the morning show.

Now Jennifer Coffindaffer, a retired FBI agent, has reacted, telling *Newsweek* that the timing of these recent ransom notes was intentional. "They sent these right when Savannah Guthrie went back to work," she said. "That was by no mistake. That was absolutely meant to further torment her and her family."

Savannah Guthrie and her mother, Nancy Guthrie.

Savannah Guthrie/Instagram

She added, "I think it speaks to the fact that there is at least someone out there that is still willing to torture this family by sending these continued communications with no proof of life."

One ransom note asked for one bitcoin for the sender to reveal who took Nancy, with the sender writing they will "deliver them on a silver platter," reported TMZ.

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The second ransom note received by the outlet read: "I saw [Nancy] alive with them in the state of Sonora Mexico." Sonora is a Mexican state that borders Arizona. In the second note, the sender also wrote that they would offer information about Nancy for half a bitcoin and accept the other half after an arrest is made.**

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Coffindaffer was skeptical that the ransom note contains relevant information, especially since there is a seven-figure reward for more information about Nancy. "Why wouldn't they go forward and try to seek the $1.2 million that's out on the table if they truly have knowledge?" she told *Newsweek.*

“The reason this makes sense to me, that they don't have that knowledge, is because they're not seeking the $1.2 million," she explained. "Instead, they're trying to subvert it with this… quickly paid, no hoops to jump through, just get the money. But I think that these people are scammers."

Nancy was last seen at her home in Arizona on Jan. 31. Authorities declared the house and surrounding area a crime scene within days of her disappearance.

Soon after the 84-year-old went missing, a public information officer from the Pima County Sheriff's Department told * *that "investigators believe she was taken from the home against her will, possibly in the middle of the night. Taken against her will includes possible kidnapping or abduction."

The police and FBI investigation into Nancy's whereabouts continues.

Savannah Guthrie/Instagram

The Pima County Sheriff's Department and the FBI urge those with information to contact them at 1-800-CALL-FBI.**

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