The FBI has concluded that the alleged ransom notes sent to media outlets regarding Nancy Guthrie's kidnapping are not genuine, according to a Reuters report.
The bureau did not disclose how it reached this conclusion.
TMZ and other news organizations received the notes and handed them over to the FBI for analysis.
Most letters arrived early in the case, but TMZ received another one just last week.
TMZ also received nearly a dozen emails from a man claiming to know the kidnapper's identity and Nancy's whereabouts, though he said he was not involved in the crime.
His first email, sent days after the abduction, offered to provide information in exchange for one bitcoin, stating "time is of the essence."
The next day, he sent another email saying "time is no longer of the essence," suggesting Nancy had died after being taken to Mexico.
He also said he needed the money to go underground, fearing retribution and being implicated by authorities.
Nancy Guthrie, 84, was kidnapped from her home in Tucson, Arizona, in February by a masked man captured on a doorbell camera.
Her daughter, TODAY show host Savannah Guthrie, has publicly pleaded for her mother's safe return.
