Nancy Guthrie Case: FBI Believes Original Ransom Notes Are 'Real,' Claims Ashleigh Banfield

Ashleigh Banfield is taking a closer look at the chilling ransom notes tied to Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance — and she believes the earliest ones may be legit.

“I’ve learned something from TMZ that I did not know before,” the 58-year-old shared on her “Drop Dead Serious” podcast.

“So, let’s be really clear because it’s getting confusing about all of the different letters. The headline here is the original letters that came to TMZ and local TV stations in Tucson. There were two letters. They threatened to kill Nancy Guthrie. We had not heard [about that information] until now,” the veteran journalist explained, noting that the FBI believes the two “original letters” were real.

As OK! previously reported, a new ransom note has since surfaced claiming to know the location of Guthrie’s body, just as her daughter, Savannah Guthrie, returned to the Today show for the first time since her mother’s disappearance.

According to reports, TMZ received two additional ransom notes on Monday, April 6 — the same day the NBC anchor went back to work after her mother was allegedly abducted on February 1.

In one email, the person made a shocking claim.

"I know where her body is and who the kidnapper is. Give me half a bitcoin, and I’ll tell you,” the message read, also stating that Nancy is "dead."

The sender also pushed back against being labeled fraudulent by authorities.

“It’s unbelievable that millions have been wasted and yet here I am willing to deliver them on a silver platter since the 11th of february for a bitcoin but I am disregarded as a scam," the first letter read. "They are free and the case is frozen but the ego’s remain hot when it comes to me."

In the same message, the individual claimed to have been outside the United States for more than five years and denied any involvement in the “horrific crime.”

Still, they demanded half a Bitcoin upfront, with the rest to be paid after a public arrest is made.

A second note later followed, adding another twist to the mystery.

"I saw her alive with them in the state of Sonora, Mexico," the sender claimed.

The author also insisted money wasn’t their only motivation.

"I just want what's fair and to live peacefully with enough to start my life again quietly with out having to join a witness protection program,” they explained.

Authorities are looking into the matter, as the Pima County Sheriff's Department confirmed: "All tips and leads are being taken seriously and are forwarded directly to our detectives, who are coordinating with the FBI.”

Nancy was last seen on January 31 at her home in Tucson, Ariz. — and the investigation remains ongoing.