EXCLUSIVE: Releasing Nancy Guthrie Ransom Notes Could Wreak Havoc on Search by Leading to 'Copycat Letters', Investigator Warns

Days after Savannah Guthrie's mom Nancy's shocking abduction, several ransom letters surfaced demanding millions for the 84-year-old's safe return.

While many have called for police to publicly release the notes, according to a private investigator, this could harm the investigation more than help it, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

Shortly after the mysterious notes were sent, the Guthrie family released heartbreaking videos begging the potential kidnappers for proof of life, but it is unclear if any came.

Eventually, the supposed deadlines for the ransom money passed, and it's unknown if there was further contact – or if any of the letters were ever legitimate in the first place. In the weeks since, little new information has been released on the contents of the notes and they eventually disappeared from the news cycle.

It's been suggested there could be clues to the identities of the kidnapper hidden in the way the messages were written, but Lisa Ribacoff-Mooney, a polygraph expert and the owner of Interpoint Investigative Services, exclusively told Radar releasing the ransom letters could lead to "copycats."

"We haven’t heard anything new in a good bit of time pertaining to a case update or even another ransom letter," she said. "I think that the police have not made the ransom letters public due to the fact that the information in the letters have not been corroborated."

While one man was accused of sending fake ransom letters in connection with the high profile missing person case in mid February, his were seemingly not the only letters sent. Several media outlets, including TMZ, claimed they also received disturbing messages regarding Nancy's kidnapping.

According to Ribacoff-Mooney, similar instances could happen again if the letters were published.

"By releasing the letters, it also allows copycat letters to be sent in where the public would learn language, tone, and even if it is a typed letter, matching the font of the letter," the private investigator explained. "It would remove the authenticity of the actual letters."

Nancy, 84, was last seen on January 31 after having dinner with her daughter Annie and her son-in-law Tommaso Cioni. She was dropped off back at her own house in Catalina Foothills at 9:48 p.m. that night.

The next day, she was reported missing after she failed to show up to watch a livestreamed church service with a friend.

Authorities later released images and videos of a potential suspect that had been captured by Nancy's doorbell camera. The man was wearing a ski mask, black gloves, a stuffed backpack and a holster that appeared to have a weapon in it.

It was initially theorized that Cioni could be a person of interest because he was the last person to see her after giving her a ride home. However, Sheriff Chris Nanos claimed the family had been cleared as suspects.

The person in the Nest camera footage has not been identified.

In the wake of Nancy's disappearance, local and federal authorities have received thousands of tips related to the case, but it could take a long time before they are able to get through them all.

"Each tip needs to be documented and logged and these tips are coming in from every direction," Ribacoff-Mooney explained, giving insight into the process. "Phone calls, emails, online form, social media, and even people walking in off the street into the police stations. Even though a tip may sound bad or weird, it still needs to be investigated."

She added that the FBI categorizes tips by priority — immediate action, needs verification and low value.

"Immediate action occurs when someone could say they know the suspect, or there is a possible sighting of the or a known vehicle," she explained. "Verification of leads takes place when there could be motive or a past occurrence with the victim."

Meanwhile, low value tips refer to information primarily consisting or "speculation," "conspiracies" or if "psychics are brought into the fold" to predict what happened in a case.