The search for Nancy Guthrie remains unresolved, 72 days after she was reported missing on February 1, 2026.
Last week, TMZ received two new ransom notes demanding half a bitcoin (approximately $36,000) in exchange for information about the kidnappers and Nancy’s whereabouts.
Former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer believes responding to this demand could be the key to finally cracking the case.
“Tickling the wire in this case would be putting half a bitcoin and seeing what happens to it,” Coffindaffer 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?”
The former FBI agent continued, “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.”
Nancy Guthrie Update: Tracing Ransom Sender Hits a Roadblock
Previously, TMZ founder Harvey Levin revealed that the FBI had taken necessary steps to track the sender of Nancy Guthrie ransom notes.
“I know that the FBI believes that those ransom notes are real. That is from the kidnapper,” Levin said in an episode of “Drop Dead Serious.” “They have done everything they can, from what I understand, to figure out who sent these notes.
Levin added that investigators worked with his IT team for hours to trace the sender, but came up dry.
“They were on with my IT team for hours and hours and hours working with my IT team, and they came up dry,” Levin continued. “And they could not find it, and they still haven’t found out who wrote it.”
Levin also revealed that the FBI “thought they had a way of tracking that Bitcoin address,” but it didn’t work.
“I can tell you that the FBI did something with that Bitcoin address from the kidnapper,” he continued. “And they actually did something, but came up dry there. And I just never thought of the perfect crime being something like this, where somehow you could evade everyone.”
Expert Suggests Nancy Guthrie Abduction Could Have Been Retribution
Meanwhile, former FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit researcher Dr. Ann Burgess suggested that the Nancy Guthrie abduction could have been an act of retribution against her family.
“Who in her orbit, letâs call it family, could be friends, would be hurt the most [by her kidnapping]?” Dr. Burgess said in an episode of “Brian Entin Investigates.”
She continued, “And I think you can answer⦠Itâs a very mean, angry, horrible thing to do. And then if it goes wrong, which obviously it did, I think it doesnât make sense that she would be a target to do more than abduct her.”
Dr. Burgess also believes that the FBI should release more information on the case to the public.
“I think there are other small bits of evidence that could be released that people could then have more to be able to, again, hypothesize on or speculate,” she explained. “I think they could let more out.”
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