A man from Hawthorne, California, pleaded guilty on Thursday to sending a fake ransom note to the family of Nancy Guthrie amid a desperate search for the 84-year-old woman.
In his plea, Derrick Callella, 42, admitted that he called and sent text messages
to a missing person’s family on Feb. 4, 2026, regarding a bitcoin transfer. He also said that he intended to harass the family by seeking information about the investigation into the missing person’s disappearance, per a press releasefrom the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.
Guthrie, the mother of Today Show host Savannah Guthrie, was abducted on Jan. 31. from her Tucson, Arizona, home. Nancy is believed to have been taken from her home against her will, as theFBI released photos of a masked assailantapproaching her front door in the middle of the night. Police have detained several persons of interest but have not charged anyone.
TheLos Angeles Times reported that per a criminal complaint, Callella used a voice over internet protocol text and call application to contact the Guthrie family a few days after Nancy’s disappearance.
“Did you get the bitcoin were [sic] waiting on our end for the transaction,” read a message sent to at least two family members, according to the filing in Arizona. Authorities linked the phone number to Callella’s email address and residence, per the complaint, and he later admitted to sending the two text messages.
Callella faces a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, or both, and one year of supervised release. His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 10, 2026.
The FBI’s Phoenix office said Wednesday that while some of the notes “have been deemed to be extortion attempts without legitimacy,” other ransom demands were potentially “legitimate.” The office stated on X that the “case continues to be investigated as a kidnapping for ransom case.”
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