Kansas City, Mo. ? The mother of two missing Independence children said she received several letters from an inmate telling her that her ex-husband was plotting to have her murdered.

Tina Porter said she turned the letters over to Independence police and Jackson County authorities but thought nothing had come of her concerns. But The Kansas City Star reported Wednesday that the FBI is investigating the possible murder-for-hire plot.

Porter’s two children disappeared more than two years ago while visiting her then-estranged husband, Dan Porter. Porter is serving 38 years in the Western Reception, Diagnostic and Correction Center in St. Joseph, after being convicted of parental kidnapping with the intent to terrorize his ex-wife.

Porter, 42, picked up his children, Sam and Lindsey, at their Independence home on June 5, 2004, for a weekend visit. The children, who were 7 and 8 at the time, haven’t been seen since. Porter has told authorities several stories about what happened to the children – ranging from he killed them to that they are alive and living with another family.

FBI spokesman Jeff Lanza said he could neither confirm nor deny that the agency is investigating the murder-for-hire plot.

Conversations subpoenaed

But The Star reported the agency has interviewed Tina Porter and this month subpoenaed copies of some of Porter’s recorded telephone conversations while in the Jackson County Detention Center. According to the subpoena, the documents are to be presented to a federal grand jury in October.

The inmate was at the Jackson County jail the same time as Dan Porter. He wrote that Porter offered him money to kill Tina Porter. He also said the children are alive and he could help her get them back for $3,500.

“He wanted 2 have his brother pay me 2 kill u when I got out,” the inmate wrote in a letter last fall. “He was so 4 real.”

According to transcripts of some of Porter’s jailhouse telephone calls, Porter has denied the charge, The Star said. The Porters divorced in November 2004.

‘I don’t want to kill nobody’

“Don’t believe there’s someone in here working with me,” Porter said in one conversation. “If I wanted to kill her, wouldn’t I have mentioned it to you guys? If I wanted to kill her, why didn’t I kill her? Why would I have someone else have to do it? No, I don’t want to kill nobody. Never did.”

Tina Porter said she was shocked when she received the letters from the inmate starting in September 2005.

She said that she took them to Independence police last fall but thought that nothing ever happened. She said Jackson County prosecutors told her they would work with the issue after Dan Porter’s trial in February.

Independence Police Sgt. Dennis Green said he couldn’t discuss the case because it was still under investigation.

Bronwyn Werner, the assistant Jackson County prosecutor who handled the kidnapping case, said last week that no decision had been made on whether to pursue the matter.

Frustrated at the lack of action, Tina Porter said she went to the FBI in July.

Inmate knew combination

In the first letter, mailed Sept. 20, 2005, the inmate said he had talked to Dan Porter while they were in jail together. To prove it, he described Tina Porter’s house, noted personal information about her and even correctly wrote down the combination to a safe inside the house.

“Nobody else knew that combination,” Tina Porter said. “Just me and Dan.”

The inmate was in jail on numerous charges, including the sale of narcotics, resisting arrest and DUI, when he wrote the letters. He was released in January.

In the second letter, mailed Sept. 30, 2005, the inmate wrote Tina Porter that he thought her children were safe and said that he would help her get them back for $3,500.

In a third letter, mailed Oct. 18, 2005, he said he had Tina Porter’s address and the color of her house “cause he wanted 2 have his brother pay me 2 kill u when I got out.”

Search continues

The inmate then wrote the correct name and address of Dan Porter’s brother, who lives in north-central Missouri.

“I was apose to contact him when the job was done in get my money,” the inmate wrote. “Im going 2 tell yes your kids are still alive thats why he wanted 2 pay me to kill you so u will not have the kids. Its the truth. I’ll give u the rest if u will help me also. This no game. So u get bac let me no were we go ASAP. I will find your kids belive me their alive and doing good!”

Dan Porter’s sister-in-law said she and her husband first heard of the alleged plot last fall when police questioned them but added that they had nothing to do with it.

Jackson County prosecutors said investigators continue to search for the children.