FBI says some ransom demands in Nancy Guthrie case may be legitimate

The FBI announced on Wednesday that it continues to investigate certain ransom demands connected to the February disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, describing some of the communications as potentially legitimate. The agency said that other notes received in the case have been identified as extortion attempts without any genuine link to the kidnapping.

"None of the ransom notes are believed to be genuine," an unnamed FBI official told Reuters.

The clarification follows a Reuters report that three messages previously circulated to media outlets were determined to be fabricated. Two of the messages were ransom notes, and a third claimed knowledge of the perpetrators; investigators concluded they originated from a common source unrelated to the abduction.

Police have found blood near Guthrie's front door and released surveillance footage showing a masked individual on her porch the night she vanished. A small amount of cryptocurrency was deposited by the FBI into an account listed in one of the ransom notes as part of an effort to verify the communication, but the funds remained untouched.

Law enforcement continues to treat the case as a kidnapping for ransom and is pursuing leads from the remaining demands.