Nancy Guthrie Case: Man Pleads Guilty to Sending Fake Ransom Note
A California man is taking responsibility for sending a fake ransom note in connection to Nancy Guthrie's disappearance.
Derrick Callella pleaded guilty to two counts of harassment using a telecommunication device, according to a July 2 press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona.
As part of his plea, the 42-year-old admitted that he called and sent text messages to Nancy's family on Feb. 4 to ask about a bitcoin transfer, per prosecutors.
"Callella acknowledged that he knew an earlier ransom demand had been made," the press release read. "Callella also admitted that his actions were meant to harass the family by seeking information about the investigation into the missing person’s disappearance."
Callella is facing two years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to prosecutors. His sentencing has been scheduled for Sept. 10.
Nancy was last seen by her family at her Arizona home at approximately 9:30 p.m. Jan. 31. The 84-year-old—who is mom to Today anchor Savannah Guthrie—was reported missing on Feb. 1, with police believing that she was taken against her will.
Since then, authorities said they have investigated several supposed ransom letters that turned out to be inauthentic.
"I think the FBI has done a number of arrests for false or fake ransom notes," Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said during the June 26 episode of local Tucson news station 1030 KVOI AM's The Buckmaster Show. "It is a shame that these types of events occur."
"People have great interest and that's good because it helps us but then it gets really abused," he continued. "People who call in fake ransom notes, people who claim for the sake of media and the family, they get out and disturb—in this case—an entire neighborhood."
An FBI official also recently confirmed that the department had looked into three messages allegedly sent from a person claiming to have information about Nancy's apparent abduction, telling Reuters the ransom notes were fake.
The FBI later clarified July 1 that while some letters were “extortion attempts” without merit, “other ransom demands may potentially be legitimate and are still being investigated as such.”
Savannah has nonetheless been shaken by the entire ordeal.
"This is the life that my sister lives, I live, that my brother lives, that our extended family lives, that our children live every day," the 54-year-old said during Today's June 23 broadcast. "We are in agony."
She added in a plea to the public, "This is the moment to tell you that we need your help. We're begging for your help. We love our mom and we'll never stop looking for her, ever."
For more details about Nancy's case, read on.
Nancy Guthrie—who is mom to Annie Guthrie and Camron Guthrie, in addition to Savannah Guthrie—was last seen by her family at her Tucson, Ariz. home at approximately 9:30 p.m. Jan. 31, per Pima County police.
The 84-year-old was reported missing by her family Feb. 1 after a concerned friend alerted Nancy’s loved ones that she didn’t show up for a church service that morning, police confirmed to Today. After her children searched Nancy’s property for around an hour, they called authorities and reported her missing around noon.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos subsequently detailed the initial investigation, which included homicide detectives, at her house.
"You don't typically get the sheriff out at a scene like this, but it's very concerning what we're learning from the house," he told reporters in a Feb. 2 press conference. "This one stood out because of what was described to us at the scene and what we found and located just in looking at the scene."
"It's not standard," Nanos continued. "Typically, our homicide team comes out when we have a homicide, a body. This one was done simply because of what the surveyors were telling us."
Following their initial investigation, authorities confirmed they believed a crime took place in Nancy’s home.
“We believe now, after we processed that crime scene, that we do, in fact have a crime scene,” Nanos shared during a Feb. 2 press conference. “We're asking the community's help. This community has always stepped up to help us solve some pretty tough crimes. I'm looking for that again.”
The sheriff cited Nancy’s limited mobility—she "couldn't walk 50 yards by herself”—a giveaway for concluding that foul play may have been involved in her disappearance.
“We know she didn't just walk out of there, that we know,” he said, adding, “There are other things at the site, at the scene, that indicate there was a—she did not leave on our own.”
As the search for Nancy continues, authorities emphasized that she needs to take daily medication for her survival, which she is likely without.
"This is an 84-year-old lady who suffers from some physical ailments, has some physical challenges, is in need of medication," Nanos shared at the Feb. 2 press conference, "medication that if she doesn't have in 24 hours, it could be fatal."
"So, we make a plea to anyone who knows anything about this, who has seen something, heard something, to contact us," he continued. "Call 911. We don't need another bad, tragic ending. We need some help.”
While Nancy’s physical health has been limited for some time, Nanos emphasized that her cognitive abilities are quite strong.
"Nancy Guthrie is of a great sound mind," Nanos explained. "This is not dementia-related. She is as sharp as a tack. The family wants everybody to know this isn't somebody who just wandered off. Her physical limits are based on just age."
As the investigation into Nancy's disappearance continues, Nanos shared his hopes for Nancy’s safe return.
"I hope we find her safe and sound," he emphasized, "but we cannot ignore what's in front of us."
One day after Nancy was reported missing, the Today anchor spoke out about the devastating ordeal her family is going through.
"On behalf of our family, I want to thank everyone for the thoughts, prayers and messages of support," she said in a Feb. 2 statement to the NBC morning show. "Right now, our focus remains on the safe return of our dear Nancy."
"We thank law enforcement for their hard work on this case," she noted, "and encourage anyone with information to contact the Pima County Sheriff's Department."
After Savannah confirmed that her mom Nancy was reported missing, her Today co-anchors publicly showed their support.
“We love Nancy,” Jenna Bush Hager said during the Feb. 2 episode of Today with Jenna & Sheinelle. “I know her personally.”
“We are thinking of our dearest, dearest Savannah and her whole family right now,” she continued. “Our prayers obviously go out to Savannah and the entire family.”
Meanwhile, Sheinelle Jones emphasized the importance of community during this difficult time.
“I thought to myself, ‘OK, this is when we’re at our best as a community,’” she said of the daytime show’s call to action, urging viewers to contact the Pima County Sheriff’s department with any information about the matter “no matter how small.”
She added, “So we’re sending our prayers but we’re also sending our collective action.”
Before concluding the segment, both hosts continued, “We love you, Savannah.”
And Sunday Today anchor Willie Geist also urged fans to keep an eye out for Nancy.
“If you have any information at all about the location of @savannahguthrie’s wonderful mother Nancy,” he wrote on Instagram Stories Feb. 2 along with the phone number to the proper authorities, “please call the @pimasheriff in Arizona. She is missing.”
Savannah’s former co-host Hoda Kotb also reacted to the shocking news, sharing a sweet photo Savannah and Nancy on the Today set. Keeping the caption simple for the Feb. 2 Instagram post, Hoda simply wrote a red heart and prayer hands emoji.
While authorities have declared Nancy’s Arizona home a “crime scene,” they believe there isn’t "any indication that the public is in danger."
"I don't think there's an active threat," Pima County Sheriff Nanos said in a Feb. 2 press conference, though noting that "there's a lot of work still to do."
While Savannah has been absent from Today since her mother was reported missing Feb. 1, local authorities have been in contact with the journalist regarding her safety.
"We've spoken to her," the sheriff confirmed. "She has a security team that's been in touch with us throughout the night, but we're not going to dismiss any angles for sure."
On Feb. 2, Pima County police shared a series of updates on the timeline of Nancy’s disappearance.
"At this point, investigators believe she was taken from the home against her will, possibly in the middle of the night,” a spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriff’s Office told MS Now Feb. 2. "Detectives are looking into a possible kidnapping or abduction.”
Following news that Nancy may have been abducted from her Arizona home while she slept, Savannah shared an emotional request.
“We believe in prayer,” she wrote in a Feb. 2 Instagram post. “We believe in voices raised in unison, in love, in hope. we believe in goodness. we believe in humanity. above all, we believe in Him.”
“Thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant,” Savannah continued. “Raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment.”
She added, “we need you.”
To conclude her plea, Savannah shared a Bible verse from Isaiah.
“‘He will keep in perfect peace those whose hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord,’” she wrote. "a verse of Isaiah for all time for all of us.”
Savannah continued, “Bring her home.”
Pima County Sheriff Nanos confirmed that DNA evidence was found at Nancy’s home, which has been declared a crime scene.
“We took some samples that we hope will have enough of a DNA profile,” he told NBC News in a report shared on Today Feb. 3, “that will give us some identification as to what we’re looking at.”
In a press conference two days later, Nanos shared the timeline of events leading up to Nancy's disappearance.
Roughly four hours after she returned home from visiting family, "at 1:47 a.m., the doorbell camera disconnects," Nanos detailed at a Feb. 5 press conference.
Although the software detected a person on the doorbell camera, he said the clip was automatically overwritten because Nancy didn't have a subscription to the service. Despite that, he emphasized they weren't done trying to retrieve the footage.
"At 2:28 a.m., Nancy's pacemaker app shows there was a disconnect from the phone," the sheriff continued. "At 11:56 a.m., the family checks on Nancy and discovers her missing and at 12:03 p.m., 911 is called in to the Pima County Sheriff's Department."
Roughly 10 minutes later, he summed up, "Our patrol teams arrive. They see the scene and we start our response with our search-and-rescue teams, and our detectives on various units."
On Feb. 4, Savannah, Camron and Annie read letters addressed to their mom and her possible abductors, pleading for Nancy's safe return home.
"As a family, we are doing everything that we can. We are ready to talk," the Today anchor said in the Instagram video. "However, we live in a world where voices and images are easily manipulated. We need to know without a doubt that she is alive and that you have her."
"Our mom is our heart and our home," she added. "Her health, her heart is fragile. She lives in constant pain. She is without any medicine. She needs it to survive. She needs it not to suffer."
The next day, Camron confirmed in a separate video that the family was still "waiting for contact."
"Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you,” he said. "We haven't heard anything directly. We need you to reach out, and we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward."
In a Feb. 5 press conference, FBI special agent Heith Janke also shared that authorities arrested California man Derrick Callella for allegedly sending fake random texts—“It was someone that was trying to profit from it. A total imposter"—and were taking a separate detailed ransom letter shared with TMZ "extremely seriously." (Callella did not enter a plea and was released on $20,000 bond.)
However, he noted, the Guthrie family was "still waiting for communication."
On Feb. 7, the same day authorities confirmed to Today they'd conducted a search of Annie's Arizona property as "part of the normal course" of the case, Savannah shared another Instagram video that seemed to indicate their previous request had been answered.
"We received your message and we understand," she said in the clip while holding hands with Camron and Annie. "We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace."
And if her intentions weren't clear, Savannah added, "This is very valuable to us and we will pay."
In a major development, authorities released surveillance photos of a potential subject in the investigation Feb. 10.
In the images—recovered from a camera on Nancy’s property—an individual wearing a ski mask and backpack is seen approaching the home, before appearing to hit the camera with their fist. Authorities previously reported the camera was broken when police arrived to the house.
"Over the last eight days, the FBI and Pima County Sheriff's Department have been working closely with our private sector partners to continue to recover any images or video footage from Nancy Guthrie‘s home that may have been lost, corrupted, or inaccessible due to a variety of factors, including the removal of recording devices,” a statement shared with E! News alongside with the photos read. "The video was recovered from residual data located in backend systems."
Two days after the FBI released footage of the masked individual approached Nancy's home, investigators released descriptive information of the suspect.
“The suspect is described as a male, approximately 5’9” - 5’10” tall, with an average build," the FBI’s Phoenix office shared in a Feb. 12 statement to X. "In the video, he is wearing a black, 25-liter ‘Ozark Trail Hiker Pack’ backpack.”
The FBI also announced that they have increased the financial reward from $50,000 to $100,000 for “information leading to the location of Nancy Guthrie and/or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance.”
More than two weeks after Nancy went missing, Pima County Sheriff Nanos issued a statement to clarify the potential list of subjects involved in the case.
“To be clear…the Guthrie family—to include all siblings and spouses—has been cleared as possible suspects in this case," he shared in a Feb. 16 statement. "The family has been nothing but cooperative and gracious and are victims in this case.”
As police learned, the gloves found near Nancy's home did not fit into the overall picture of the investigation.
Nearly three weeks after a pair of gloves with DNA were found roughly two miles from her house, Pima County Sheriff Nanos told local NBC affiliate KVOA March 2, "At that time, we believed wholeheartedly that those gloves belonged to a restaurant."
And while amateur sleuths have floated theories that the gloves looked an awful lot like the ones worn by the masked subject in the released doorbell footage, Nanos called that hunch "speculation." They had tracked down the gloves' owner—a worker at the nearby eater—and determined the supposed evidence had "nothing to do with the case.”
Though authorities dug deep after a human bone was found roughly seven miles from Nancy's home May 7, police later confirmed it was not a piece of the puzzle.
A spokesperson for the Tucson Police Department told People that the evidence was "not criminal in nature," adding that it was a "prehistoric anthropological investigation."
NBC News reported June 22 that, according to three people familiar with the situation, a second note sent to the media indicated that Nancy had died.
While the first note said Nancy was safe and requested cryptocurrency in exchange for her release, the second did not contain an apology or ask for money, according to the outlet. Both letters were sent to Jessica Bobula, news director for NBC News' Arizona affiliate KOLD.
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