OAN Staff Sophia Flores
Thursday, February 5, 2026
Update: 1:20 PM – The man who is charged with transmitting a ransom demand related to Nancy Guthrie has been identified as Derrick Callella, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Phoenix division.
His mugshot has not yet been released.
The 42-year-old from Hawthorne, California, is facing criminal charges after he admitted to investigators that he sent texts and made phone calls to the family after they released a video stating they are willing to negotiate in exchange for their mother.
Authorities traced back the text messages, which were sent to Guthrie’s daughter and son-in-law, to an email address belonging to Callella. IP address records show the communications originated from his California home.
According to court documents, the ransom notes sent to news outlets have not been directly linked to the text messages.
12:14 PM – An imposter has been arrested for faking a ransom note to NBC “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie and her family following their mother’s suspected abduction from her Tucson, Arizona, home.
On Thursday, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent Heith Janke announced that the suspect, who has yet to be publicly identified, has been taken into custody. The individual is set to appear in court later in the day.
“We have made one arrest related to an imposter ransom demand, and the complaint will be presented at the state judge later today,” he said.
“My next message is to those imposters who are trying to take advantage and profit from this situation – we will investigate and ensure you are held accountable for your actions,” Agent Janke continued.
The note from the cruel imposter comes after three news stations, two local Tucson affiliates and TMZ, received purported ransom notes, which they handed over to investigators.
The ransom letters set an initial deadline of 5 p.m., Thursday, with a second deadline on Monday. The messages demanded an undisclosed multimillion-dollar Bitcoin payment in exchange for Nancy Guthrie.
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