'We Are in a Nightmare': California Man Sentenced Over Fake Ransom Note for Missing Nancy Guthrie

A California man who admitted to harassing relatives of missing Arizona woman Nancy Guthrie with ransom-related messages has been sentenced in federal court

According to court records, Derrick Callella, 42, of Hawthorne, California, received two concurrent five-year probation terms on Monday.

The terms will run concurrently, and he was also ordered to pay a $200 special assessment. Callella must report to the probation office within 72 hours of sentencing.

Fake Ransom Note Sentencing in Nancy Guthrie Case

According to prosecutors, Callella admitted that his messages were intended to harass the Guthrie family while seeking information about the missing-person investigation. It was not a legitimate attempt to help locate Nancy Guthrie, prosecutors said.

Court records indicate Callella was sentenced to two five-year probation terms, to be served concurrently. In practical terms, that means the periods of supervision overlap, rather than adding up to 10 years.

He was not sentenced over Nancy Guthrie's disappearance. The criminal matter against Callella concerns his communications with her family and the purported ransom demand. Available material does not say he has been charged in connection with her disappearance.

Earlier reporting indicated that Judge John C. Hinderaker had contemplated a longer probation period. Callella was also expected to attend a residential addiction treatment facility before the sentencing date. The final order imposed concurrent five-year terms instead.

Savannah Guthrie's Plea for Nancy Guthrie

Nancy Guthrie is the mother of Savannah Guthrie, the Today anchor. Savannah Guthrie and her siblings have made repeated public appeals for information that could lead to their mother's return.

In an Instagram message at the end of July, Savannah Guthrie said: 'It has been months since our mom was taken from us. Our family is in agony. We are in a nightmare that will not end. Nothing about our situation has changed.'

She continued: 'We have done our part. We will never stop looking for her. We will always ache for her, feel that hole in our hearts.'

Addressing the person responsible for her mother's disappearance, Guthrie said: 'So I'm asking you, begging you, to do the right thing now. Make the right choice. Help us find her. Tell us where to look for her.'

She added: 'I truly believe it is never too late to do the right thing. Help us bring this situation to an end. For all of us, no matter where we've been, what we've done, I believe there is always a way home. Please make the right choice.'

Nancy Guthrie Search Remains Unsolved

Nancy Guthrie was last seen on the evening of 31 January after relatives dropped her at her Tucson home following dinner and a game night. She was reported missing the next day after failing to attend a virtual church service with a friend.

Pima County investigators later said they believed Guthrie had been taken against her will. That assessment remains central to the investigation, although no one has been arrested or publicly named as a suspect in her disappearance.

Images later released from a security camera showed a man outside the property wearing a ski mask, jacket, gloves and a backpack. The FBI Phoenix office described the individual as male, approximately 5ft 9in to 5ft 10in tall, with an average build.

The person in the images has not been publicly identified. Investigators have conducted searches and examined DNA evidence, but authorities have not announced a breakthrough in the case.

Several alleged ransom communications have also complicated the inquiry. One note, described in reporting on the investigation, claimed Guthrie had 'perished shortly after she was taken' and had been 'buried in nature now'. Authorities have not confirmed that assertion.

Callella pleaded guilty in July to two counts of harassment using a telecommunications device. The US Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona said he admitted calling and texting Guthrie family members on 4 February.

He asked about a Bitcoin transfer while the search for Nancy Guthrie was under way. Prosecutors said he knew an earlier ransom demand had already been made.

As of publication, law enforcement agencies have not released any new investigative details alongside Callella's sentencing.

The harassment case has been brought to a legal conclusion, at least for now, but the central crime, the abduction of Nancy Guthrie, remains officially unsolved. Someone, somewhere, still knows exactly what happened on that January night in Tucson.