Retired FBI Negotiator Says Purported Nancy Guthrie Note Breaks Basic Ransom Rule

New details surrounding what is described as the first ransom note in the Nancy Guthrie case do not fit the typical pattern of a kidnapping-for-ransom scheme, a retired FBI negotiator told INC News.

“The fact that they wanted to cut off communication quickly suggests that they may not have had kidnapping for ransom as a primary motive, even though that’s what this says,” said Jason Pack, a retired FBI supervisory agent. “It doesn’t seem like how a usual kidnapping goes down.”

Pack said kidnappers seeking money generally try to preserve contact with a victim’s relatives, using ongoing communication to negotiate payment and maintain control. A reported instruction to end contact, he said, stands out as highly abnormal.

“The most telling sign is this no negotiation, no further contact line,” Pack told INC News. “Genuine kidnappers wanna keep the line of communication open.”

Still, Pack noted that the message did include elements commonly used to pressure families, such as a deadline, threats and a warning that Guthrie understood what could happen if the demands were ignored.

Even so, he said, ending communication before the stated deadlines had passed was another detail that did not align with a conventional ransom kidnapping.

Guthrie was taken from her home in Tucson’s Catalina Foothills neighborhood in the early morning hours of Feb. 1, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI. She has not been seen since, and no proof of life was ever provided.

In a second purported ransom note, the sender indicated Guthrie had died soon after she was taken and been buried “with nature.”

New excerpts from what is reportedly the first note received by local media shed light on why Pack believes the communication departed from a traditional ransom demand.

Briana Whitney, who was working for the Phoenix-based AZ Family news outlet when the case broke, joined “Crime Junkie” host Ashley Flowers on Wednesday to discuss the note her former outlet received. “Crime Junkie” declined to share copies of the text.

“Hello Savannah, we have your mother Nancy,” she began, reading from what she said was the first note sent to local media. “She is safe but scared. She will be held for ransom, and once payment is received, she will be released unharmed. We will be holding her for a maximum of seven days.”

As previously conveyed by authorities, the sender gave two deadlines with increased money demands the longer it took.

“Once payment is received to the Bitcoin address below, she will be released within 12 hours of deposit to a safe drop-off location back in Tucson,” Whitney read. “If the payment is not received by the last deadline on Monday the 9th at 5 p.m., she will be killed. Your mother is aware of this, and her life is in your hands.”

The sender left no room for further dialogue.

“It is in the best interest of everyone to have this completed as soon as possible,” the note reportedly continued. “You will not be able to contact me from here on out. There will be no negotiation. Do not play games. Law enforcement will not be able to help you.”

The note also included details that may have only been available to investigators and the suspect at the time, including the location of Guthrie’s Apple Watch and details about the smashed floodlight in her backyard — but even that is not enough to pin down kidnapping for ransom as a motive, Pack said.

“The details about the security camera and the spotlight that was out, that proves that they know what the home was like, what the environment may have been like, but it’s not a real proof of life,” he said.

In most ransom kidnappings, he said, the abductors will want to prove they have possession of the victim and that the victim is alive.

“All these things put together don’t seem really like they go with the kidnapping for ransom,” he said.

Investigators appear to be split on the notes’ authenticity. While one person has already pleaded guilty to sending an impostor ransom note to Guthrie’s other daughter, Annie, and her husband Tommaso Cioni, that case is not believed to be connected to the notes sent to local media stations.

“The FBI and its task force partners have received several ransom notes over the course of this investigation,” the FBI’s Phoenix office said in a statement in June. “Some have been deemed to be extortion attempts without legitimacy. Other ransom demands may potentially be legitimate and are still being investigated as such. This case continues to be investigated as a kidnapping for ransom case. The FBI has and will continue to offer all assistance possible in the investigation — however local authorities remain the lead.”

Some investigators said they were confident that the ransom demands are all bogus, while others are cautious about reaching that conclusion while Guthrie’s whereabouts remain unknown, federal law enforcement sources told Fox News and INC News. Still, the two notes that Whitney mentioned have been deemed potentially authentic by investigators and by the Guthrie family.

The only known suspect remains publicly unidentified — a masked intruder who appeared on Nest doorbell camera video that the FBI recovered with help from Google.

He is described as standing between 5 feet, 9 inches and 5 feet, 10 inches tall with an average build. He was wearing a black Ozark Trail backpack. It remains unclear whether he acted alone.

The sum of rewards in the case is over $1.2 million.

Anyone with information is asked to dial 1-800-CALL-FBI. Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Tucson’s Crime Stoppers affiliate at 520-88-CRIME.