TMZ’s Harvey Levin Reveals He Received a Reply From Tipster Claiming to Know Where Nancy Guthrie Is

CNN anchor Kate Bolduan spoke to TMZ founder Harvey Levin on Monday about the latest developments in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie and his announcement earlier in the day that he offered to act as intermediary between the FBI and the person who sent in emails to TMZ claiming he knows where Guthrie is being held.

Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Today anchor Savannah Guthrie, has been missing since February 1st and is believed to have been taken from her home. The FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to her safe return.

Bolduan began by asking, “What’s the latest that you’re learning and picking up?”

Levin replied, “Well, I can tell you that the FBI is really interested in this ransom note and has been for many days now. And without saying more, there’s absolutely no doubt that they are spending a lot of time on this. They’re also interested in these four letters that we’ve been getting from this person.”

“And we know it’s the same person because they keep putting the same Bitcoin address in, saying that he can lead them to Nancy and the kidnappers. I say that plural, and we can get into that. As a matter of fact, I can right now,” Levin continued, adding:

Let me just read you this. You read part of it. “I know what I saw five days ago south of the border and I was told to shut up. So I know who he is and that was definitely Nancy with them.” So he says “them,” plural. And in another email, a previous one, he also referred to the kidnappers in the plural. So that’s what he’s saying. And Kate, I can’t vouch for this. I can’t tell you if it’s real or fake. We made it clear to him today, and he saw this either on social media or our website, that if he is lying, if this is a fake, he’s committed a crime. So I can’t tell you, but I know the FBI is looking at this.

Bolduan followed up, “I assume you’ve not gotten a response yet to your offer to act as a go-between if they don’t want to contact the FBI themselves for all the various reasons you’ve previously discussed. You would take the information, you would pass it along, and I’m assuming or guessing no response yet.”

Levin replied, “Well, there was a response, and I’m not going to get into it until and unless he actually gives us the information because I feel like this is becoming a cat-and-mouse game. So what we said to him was, look, you don’t trust the FBI, you’ve made that clear. And so if you’re contacting us, just give us the info, we’ll give it to the FBI. And then if that leads to finding Nancy and the arrest of the kidnapper, then there’s a record that you’re the one who did it and you’ll get the ransom money. So, you know, that’s on the table with him. And he has not said yes.”

Bolduan continued, “Though you have received a response to your offer, does it indicate openness or frustration or any indication that they’re contemplating this offer?”

“Frustration. Clearly frustration. He is talking, you know, in these letters. He said in the one we got early this morning, he said, ‘Look, I have a burglary conviction 10 years ago,’ which I think is really interesting. He has a burglary conviction because you’re wondering, why is this guy somehow connected to the kidnapper? So he said, look, he has a record. And he’s worried, it sounds like, of getting implicated in this somehow. He’s worried of retaliation by the people who have done this. He gets into that in several of the letters, most recently the one this morning,” Levin replied.

Bolduan pressed for more details, “Where did the idea come from, Harvey? Was this born out of your frustration that this person continues to demand money but nothing concrete had come from it? I’m really curious about it.”

Levin explained, “You know, I had to talk to the FBI about something this morning, and I just said, ‘Look, you know, why don’t I just do this?’ And I got a return call, and they said we would not oppose that. So, you know, they’re not—this is delicate, because look, there have been times we’ve worked with law enforcement, but most of the time there’s a wall, and you know, they are sources, but we’re not cooperating. You know, to the extent we are here, it’s because somebody’s life is at stake. So, you know, this is—it’s tricky to navigate this because we’re not part of law enforcement at the same time. It’s obvious that somebody’s life hangs in the balance here. So we’re trying to do as much as we can and also kind of draw that line between journalism and helping law enforcement.”

“I entirely appreciate the delicate situation that you have been navigating quite remarkably throughout this, considering the position that you and your organization have been put in since you’ve been the one sent these letters and these communications. The FBI, you said they were not opposed. I was going to ask what reaction you’d gotten from the FBI when you said, ‘I’m going to do this.’ So they’re open to—they’re opened to ideas?” Bolduan asked.

Levin concluded, “Not to make light of it, but the first reaction I got was, “Huh.” So, yeah, I mean, look, they’re trying to figure out how to get this guy and figure out whether he’s real or fake. And so, you know, I think, look, we put it out there, we’ll see if it works, but you know, so far we have not gotten the information. And honestly, Kate, if we do get the information, we’re going to be radio silent about it because the worst thing would be that you get the information and then we blast it out there. So if we get it, we’ll pass it on to the FBI and then just play the waiting game.”

Watch the clip above via CNN.

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