TUCSON, Ariz. — A former FBI agent says she received four emails demanding bitcoin in exchange for the release of Nancy Guthrie, the missing mother of "Today" co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, and is warning that scammers may be trying to profit from public concern over the case.

Jennifer Coffindaffer, a retired FBI special agent and law and justice contributor for NewsNation, said she received the messages in April but initially kept quiet, reporting them only to the FBI. She said the bureau told her the bitcoin address in the emails did not match the address in ransom notes investigators believed to be legitimate.

Coffindaffer said she believes the messages were sent by people seeking to take advantage of those following the case, not by anyone responsible for Guthrie's disappearance.

She said she decided to speak publicly because she worries others who care about Guthrie's fate could be targeted and "lured to make a deposit."

"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.

Coffindaffer told Newsweek the four emails arrived over the course of two days to a personal email address. They demanded payment in bitcoin for Guthrie's release and included an image appearing to depict Guthrie that Coffindaffer described as artificially generated.

She described the image to NewsNation as showing........

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