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A Southern California man pleaded guilty in federal court to sending fake ransom notes to Nancy Guthrie's family shortly after her disappearance, prosecutors announced on July 2.Derrick Callella, 42, of Hawthorne, California, pleaded guilty to two counts of harassment using a telecommunication device at a federal courthouse in Tucson, Arizona, on July 2, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona. The charge has a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a potential fine of up to $250,000.Callella was arrested in Hawthorne — a city just south of Los Angeles International Airport — on Feb. 5, according to prosecutors. Callella was accused of texting Guthrie's family and demanding a bitcoin transaction after the family released a video pleading for their mother's return."In his plea, Callella admitted that he called and sent text messages to a missing person’s family on Feb. 4, 2026, which asked about a bitcoin transfer," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a news release. "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."Esther Winne, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice, told The Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network, that Callella's guilty plea was part of a plea offer, but did not elaborate on what the offer entailed. Callella is due back in court for sentencing on Sept. 10.FBI source: Fake ransom demands abound in Guthrie kidnapping caseWhile Callella appears to be the first person publicly facing criminal charges for sending fake ransom notes to Guthrie's family, he isn't the only person to have done so. Nancy Guthrie is the mother of "Today" show coanchor Savannah Guthrie.Three kidnapping-related messages that surfaced in the news media about the missing 84-year-old were all deemed to be fake, according to an unnamed FBI source who spoke with Reuters. Those notes pertained to two ransom notes shared with news outlets soon after Nancy Guthrie vanished from her home and a third note from an individual claiming to know her abductors' identities, the news outlet reported.Nancy Guthrie was reported missing on the morning of Feb. 1 after she failed to show up at a friend’s house to watch a virtual church service. While the FBI obtained footage of an armed and masked individual captured by her Google Nest doorbell camera, investigators for months have been unable to identify a suspect behind her likely abduction."This is an active and ongoing investigation," Pima County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Kevin Adger told The Arizona Republic on June 29. "Forensic analysis of video and DNA evidence remains underway. If and when there is a significant development in this case, it will be shared with the public."Savannah Guthrie and her siblings treated initial notes seriouslyNancy Guthrie’s family initially received a ransom note on Feb. 2 demanding $4 million in Bitcoin, according to the digital weekly newsletter Air Mail, citing two unnamed sources close to the team investigating her disappearance.But a Feb. 6 email sent from the same IP address as the first apologized for Nancy Guthrie’s accidental death and apparently suggested a monetary transaction of some kind in exchange for her body, Air Mail reported.The outlet went on to report that investigators suspected the armed, masked man captured on Nancy Guthrie’s Google Nest doorbell camera the night of her disappearance might not have authored the ransom notes but rather was working with a co-conspirator.During a June 23 taping of NBC's "Today," Savannah Guthrie said her family remains "in agony" as the search for her mother continues.After an NBC News segment sharing these new details about the previously reported ransom note, an emotional Savannah Guthrie, sitting alongside her "Today" colleagues, said she didn't "have any comment on the story" and is "not involved in our coverage" but again urged viewers to share any information that may be useful in locating her missing mom."I can't pretend I'm not here, and since I am, I wanted to just take the opportunity to ask people, really to beg people, to come forward," she said.The family has offered a $1 million reward for information leading to the recovery of their mother's body.Contributing: Richard Ruelas, Sarah Lapidus, and Catherine Reagor, Arizona Republic; USA TODAY
