TUCSON, Ariz. — More than five months after 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her Tucson home, a retired FBI agent says internal friction within the bureau continues to shape how the high-profile kidnapping investigation is being handled, with competing assessments over the case's core evidence still unresolved.

Retired FBI agent Steve Moore, who has emerged as one of the more outspoken commentators on the case, told NewsNation's Brian Entin that he believes investigators remain divided on fundamental questions about the evidence. "The more I see this, the more I think that there is some significant disagreement within the FBI investigation on what they're dealing with. Right down to the validity of certain pieces of evidence," Moore said. He noted that such disagreements are not unusual in complex investigations, explaining that "perspectives can differ between field offices and FBI headquarters, as well as between case agents and management."

Moore's comments followed earlier reporting from Reuters indicating that the FBI did not believe certain ransom notes tied to the case were legitimate, a characterization the bureau later appeared to walk back when it issued a statement saying the disappearance continues to be investigated as a kidnapping for ransom. To outside observers, Moore said, that shift looked like an abrupt reversal, one he attributes to internal disagreement rather than a single settled conclusion. Even so, Moore said his understanding remains that the FBI continues to treat Guthrie's disappearance as an abduction regardless of how the ransom notes are ultimately assessed. "Regardless of whether or not ransom notes from the actual........

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