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Ex-FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer receives 4 ransom notes with distressing photo appearing to show Nancy Guthrie, ‘I am concerned…’
Retired FBI special agent Jennifer Coffindaffer claimed that she received four ransom emails in the Nancy Guthrie case.
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Retired FBI special agent Jennifer Coffindaffer claimed that she received four ransom emails in the Nancy Guthrie case. She said she believes the emails were from people seeking to take advantage of those following the case.
Coffindaffer told NewsNation that she got the notes back in April. She said she initially remained quiet about them and only reported them to the FBI. The FBI reportedly said that the bitcoin address did not match notes believed to be legitimate.
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Coffindaffer said that she decided to speak out about it after learning that Lauren Serpa, Nancy’s neighbor, received a similar note. This made her concerned that the senders might try to prey on others. Serpa posted on social media about the note she received, and it contained an image nearly identical to the one in Coffindaffer’s note.
“That’s the reason I wanted to come forward because I was concerned that now other people might be contacted and might fall for the ploy,” Coffindaffer said.
What the ransom notes said
The notes demanded payment in bitcoin and included a disturbing image appearing to depict Nancy. Coffindaffer said that she believes the senders are part of an organized group. She said the notes were sent to her personal email address and included personal information about her that is not available online.
“They found my personal email address. I have five emails, and I use all of them for business except one. And that one no one knows, and they found that email address. I put my sleuths on it looking, and they couldn’t find my email address,” she said.
Coffindaffer said that the notes also included Bible verses meant to appeal to her personal beliefs.
“I’m pretty religious, I’m a devout Catholic, and they certainly worked that angle in their ransom notes to me,” Coffindaffer said.
The bitcoin address on the notes failed to match the address on notes investigators believe may have come from Nancy’s actual kidnappers.
Coffindaffer believes she may have been targeted because of her public advice to law enforcement about the case, adding that the senders demanded a relatively low ransom of one or two bitcoins, which would have been worth roughly $60,000 per bitcoin in April and is currently roughly $80,000.
“I am concerned that other people that are following the Nancy Guthrie case, concerned about her, could be lured to make a deposit,” Coffindaffer said. “Because they send this picture, it showed a likeness of Nancy shaved with dirt on her face, looking very hurt and with a tear coming down her eye. So they really try to weigh on the emotion and try to convince the person that she’s alive, and that they can do something to help.”
Savannah Guthrie’s 84-year-old mother went missing from her Catalina Foothills home on January 31, 2026.
