TRUE CRIME NEWSNancy Guthrie Ransom Notes Contain 'Fingerprint' That May Help Authorities Learn 'Who They're Dealing With,' Says Ex-FBI Agent
Nancy Guthrie has been missing for over four months.
June 23 2026, Published 5:24 p.m. ET
A retired FBI agent shared insight into the ongoing investigation over the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie's mother, Nancy Guthrie.
Jason Pack told an outlet authorities are likely looking at small details contained in one of the first two ransom notes sent out.
Dissecting the Ransom Notes
Nancy Guthrie was reported missing on February 1.
"Ransom communications have a ‘fingerprint’ to them," he spilled to Page Six.
"If the first two [ransom notes] read like the same person wrote them and everything that followed reads differently, that tells the task force something meaningful about who they’re actually dealing with versus who decided to insert themselves into the story once it went international," he explained.
A former FBI agent thinks the ransom notes could unintentionally offer clues.
Since the first ransom note contained small details such as what Nancy was allegedly wearing at the time of her abduction, the sender was "likely there."
"Based on what’s been reported, the language and tone of those first two notes compared to everything that came after is where the real analytical work is happening right now," Pack added.
What Happened to Savannah Guthrie's Mom?
- Savannah Guthrie's Family May Have Paid Ransom to Mom Nancy's Alleged Kidnappers, Ex-Special Agent Claims
- Nancy Guthrie's Latest Ransom Letters Were a Plot to 'Torment' Family, Claims Ex-FBI Agent: 'Scammers'
- Religious Ransom? Ex-FBI Agent Suggests Nancy Guthrie Kidnapper Could Be 'Someone Who Sees Themselves as Holy'
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Authorities have not identified the masked man caught on Nancy Guthrie's doorbell camera.
As OK! reported, Nancy was last seen by her family on the night of January 31 and reported missing the next day when she failed to show up to a friend's house.
Her doorbell camera caught a masked man seemingly tinkering with the device, but his identity is still unknown. It's believed she was taken from her Tucson, Ariz., home around 2:30 a.m., as that's when her cell phone, which was left behind, disconnected from her pacemaker app.
Did the Guthries Pay the Ransom Demand?
The Guthrie family did not pay the ransom demand, which asked for cryptocurrency.
While Savannah and her family released a video message saying they would pay the ransom fee, a transaction was never made. While some believe the Today star should have forked over the money, Pack defended their move.
"The task force had information the public doesn’t have and likely never will," he stated. "The family was part of those conversations. Everyone involved made the best decisions they could with what they knew at that moment, not with what we think we know five months later reading news reports."
"Based on what we know publicly, that’s not a mistake," he insisted. "That’s sometimes how these things go and the full picture may look very different than what we’re seeing from the outside."
Is Nancy Guthrie Alive?
An alleged ransom note claimed Nancy Guthrie died by accident.
Though anonymous tips have prompted search groups to dig around for Nancy in Mexico, nothing has showed up.
It's still unclear if Nancy is alive, however, NewsNation correspondent Brian Entin and others claimed the second ransom note stated Nancy was dead.
"The second ransom note in the Nancy Guthrie case said she died and was 'buried with nature now,' according to a source close to the investigation," Entin wrote via X on Monday, June 22. "The note indicated Nancy's death was not intentional, but did not offer a direct apology."
