FBI Source Contacts TMZ Re: Nancy Guthrie Kidnapping

An FBI source contacted TMZ Tuesday morning about the Nancy Guthrie ransom demands, as well as the person claiming to know where her body is buried.

The source contacted us after nearly a month of getting ghosted by the agency. As we have reported, the FBI was in frequent touch with TMZ regarding the first ransom note as well as the emails we received from someone claiming to know the identities of the kidnappers and the location of Nancy's body.

We now have clarity over the sequence of events in the first critical week. Our source -- who is directly involved in the kidnapping investigation -- tells us the reason Savannah Guthrie obliquely pleaded with the kidnappers a week after the kidnapping to return her mother's body -- offering to pay money -- is that the kidnappers appeared to have freaked out that Nancy died shortly after she was kidnapped and seemed to retreat from demanding money. Our source says Savanah offered money to incentivize the kidnappers to lead the family to Nancy.

We're told the kidnappers never responded to the overture and no money was paid, other than a small amount the FBI put in the kidnappers' bitcoin account, hoping in vain to unveil their identities.

As for the person who had been sending TMZ nearly a dozen emails, claiming to know the location of Nancy's body and the identities of the kidnappers, our FBI source says the agency is still actively looking for that person and believes agents will find the individual.

As we reported, we offered to do a documentary on the case and pay the bitcoin to the person who wrote the emails, but the source asked us to stand down because they are making headway. We're also told the FBI believes the person who wrote the emails may be a woman.