Inside the Hoax: How A Heartless California Man Exploited The Terrifying Abduction Of Nancy Guthrie

A California man has pleaded guilty to sending fake ransom demands following the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie.

According to a statement released on Thursday, 2 July, by the US Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona, Hawthorne resident Derrick Callella admitted to two counts of telecommunications harassment. Authorities said the 42-year-old confessed to contacting Guthrie's relatives by phone calls and text messages on 4 February concerning a bitcoin transaction.

'Callella acknowledged that he knew an earlier ransom demand had been made. Callella also admitted that his actions were meant to harass the family by seeking information about the investigation into the missing person's disappearance,' the US Attorney's Office said in its press release.

Callella is due to be sentenced on 10 September. The charges carry a maximum penalty of two years in prison, a $250,000 (£187,062.50) fine, or both. He could also face a further year of supervised release following his prison term.

Search for Nancy Continues

The search for the 84-year-old mother of TODAY host Savannah Guthrie remains ongoing, with authorities yet to identify any official suspects since her abduction earlier this year. The octogenarian vanished from her home in Tucson, Arizona, during the early hours of 1 February.

The FBI announced on Wednesday that the ongoing kidnapping investigation has yielded 'several ransom notes', confirming that some messages have not yet been ruled out.

FBI Examines Ransom Notes

According to the FBI's Phoenix bureau, while some communications 'have been deemed to be extortion attempts without legitimacy', other demands 'may potentially be legitimate and are still being investigated as such'.

The bureau issued the clarification in response to a published report which, citing a source familiar with the matter, claimed the ransom demands were entirely fraudulent.

The communications include two notes sent in February shortly after the abduction, alongside a more recent message claiming to have the names of those responsible for taking Nancy.

According to a Reuters report, an FBI official said the first two messages originated from the same source. The first note, sent to TMZ, demanded a multi-million-dollar ransom payment in cryptocurrency.

A second message claimed Nancy had died not long after her abduction, a detail previously reported by NBC News. The bureau maintains that the case 'continues to be investigated as a kidnapping for ransom case'.

Investigation Seeks New Leads

According to the Pima County Sheriff's Department, Nancy was last seen at her Arizona home at around 9:30 p.m. local time on 31 January. Her disappearance was discovered and reported to authorities the following day after she failed to log in to an online church service.

A significant development in the investigation emerged in May, when Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told PEOPLE that detectives were awaiting potential breakthroughs from forensic DNA analysis. Investigators are also continuing to examine electronic data in an effort to uncover fresh lines of enquiry.

Public Asked to Come Forward

Despite Callella's guilty plea, investigators continue to treat Nancy Guthrie's disappearance as an active kidnapping-for-ransom investigation. Authorities have stressed that the search remains ongoing and that every credible lead is still being pursued.

Authorities are urging anyone with information or clues to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI. Alternatively, members of the public can contact the Pima County Sheriff's Office by calling 520-351-4900.