Police Arrest Individual for Falsifying Ransom Note in Connection to Nancy Guthrie's Disappearance
An arrest has been made related to the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie‘s mother, Nancy Guthrie.
If you don’t know, the 84-year-old mom of the Today show host has been missing since this weekend, and police say she may have been abducted.
Five days after Nancy vanished from her house in Arizona, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department held a press conference where they announced that an individual has been arrested in connection to a fake ransom note.
Keep reading to find out more…On Thursday (February 5), FBI Agent Heith Janke shared that while local authorities and the FBI are both looking into ransom notes related to Nancy‘s disappearance, they have arrested one individual who is accused of crafting a fake ransom note.
“We have made one arrest related to an imposter ransom demand, and a complaint will be presented to a magistrate judge later today,” Janke said, per People.
He also urged the public to avoid taking advantage of this serious situation, warning that they will be prosecuted.
“My next message is to those imposters who are trying to take advantage and profit from this situation,” Janke said. “We will investigate and ensure you are held accountable for your actions.”
While addressing this false ransom note, Janke said, “We believe there’s no evidence to connect this to Nancy’s case. It was someone that was trying to profit from it, a total imposter.”
In a criminal complaint obtained by People, it named Derrick Callella as the defendant, citing two violations. One violation related to the intent to “transit a demand for ransom” and the second violation was for using a telecommunications device “without disclosing his identity and with intent to abuse, threaten, or harass any specific person.”
The complaint stated that Callella sent text messages to Nancy‘s daughter Annie and Annie‘s husband. The text allegedly said: “Did you get the bitcoin were [sic] waiting on our end for the transaction.”
Callella admitted to sending the texts, and said that he pulled the family’s information from a “cyber site,” according to the complaint. He also admitted that he “had been following along and watching TV.” Phone records also show that he called a member of Nancy’s family, which lasted for nine seconds.
If you didn’t see, authorities provided a full update on Nancy‘s possible abduction timeline, including when a person was detected by a camera at her home.