California Man Admits To Sending Fake Ransom Demands Amid Nancy Guthrie Case

Interesting abduction, california, nancy guthrie, ransom admin July 3, 2026 0 Comments

California Man Admits To Sending Fake Ransom Demands Amid Nancy Guthrie Case

A California man pleaded guilty to sending phony ransom demands to the family of Nancy Guthrie, the missing 84-year-old mother of “TODAY” co-host Savannah Guthrie, according to a U.S. attorney’s office.

Derrick Callella, 42, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Tucson to two counts of harassment via telecommunications device, according to a U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Arizona press release. His deal with prosecutors keeps him out of prison and calls for five years on probation, a U.S. Attorney spokesperson told Reuters. The conviction is the only one so far in Guthrie’s disappearance, which remains unsolved over five months on, according to the outlet. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 10. The charges he faced carried up to two years behind bars as well as a $250,000 fine.

The FBI said Callella messaged Guthrie’s relatives on Feb. 4, NewsNation reported. He conceded he already knew someone had floated a ransom demand, according to the U.S. Attorney statement obtained by Reuters. The statement said Callella confessed that he wanted to harass relatives by pursuing details about the search. (RELATED: Savannah Guthrie’s Gut-Wrenching Interview Reveals New Details Of Nancy Guthrie’s Disappearance)

“Did you get the bitcoin were [sic] waiting on our end for the transaction,” a message read, according to court records cited by NewsNation. Cellphone data showed a nine-second call to a relative moments later, investigators said.

The texts reached Guthrie’s oldest daughter Annie and son-in-law Tommaso Cioni just after the family posted a video seeking proof of life, KOLD-TV reported, citing court records and detectives. Prosecutors said Thursday that Callella failed a drug test, according to KVOA4 Tucson. Court statements showed that Callella admitted he used drugs four days prior.

Guthrie, frail and barely mobile, was last seen at her Tucson-area home Jan. 31, and a relative reported her missing to authorities on Feb. 1, Reuters reported. Searchers found her wallet, phone, hearing aid and medication left behind, and DNA testing matched blood discovered on her porch to her. No suspect in her disappearance has surfaced.

The FBI’s Phoenix field office said Thursday that investigators have received several purported ransom notes, discarding some as “extortion attempts without legitimacy” while weighing others as possibly genuine. The bureau is still investigating the matter as a kidnapping for ransom, with local authorities running the case, according to the field office.

“The Department of Justice will protect victims and families at all costs, and grief profiteers will be held accountable,” U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine said, according to NewsNation.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos warned others against similar hoaxes.

“The FBI takes these notes extremely seriously. They track them down, and if they find it to be fraudulent, they don’t just put it aside; they will arrest you, they have made arrests, I think they’ve made two or three arrests already,” Nanos told KOLD-TV.

Savannah Guthrie has pleaded publicly for her mother’s safe return, telling viewers the family remains “in agony” over the disappearance of her mother, according to NBC News.