Man Accused of Sending Fake Ransom Texts to Nancy Guthrie’s Family Is Pictured as He’s Released

A California man accused by federal authorities of sending fake ransom texts to Nancy Guthrie’s family during the investigation into her disappearance has been released from custody ahead of trial.

Derrick Callella, 42, of Hawthorne, California, appeared in federal court in Tucson on Thursday, Feb. 12. Prosecutors have charged him with transmitting a ransom demand in interstate commerce and using a telecommunications device with the intent to abuse, threaten, or harass someone without identifying himself, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice.

After the hearing, Callella was released under pretrial restrictions. He declined to comment, local outlets reported. Federal court records do not list an attorney for him.

Authorities allege Callella sent ransom-demand text messages on Feb. 4 to Nancy’s daughter Annie Guthrie and to Tommaso Cioni, Annie’s husband, according to a criminal complaint. One text, the complaint says, asked about a bitcoin transaction. Investigators also allege Callella placed a brief phone call to an unidentified family member minutes later.

The complaint states the messages were sent shortly after Nancy’s other daughter, television host Savannah Guthrie, posted a video on Instagram with her siblings asking whoever took their mother to contact the family.

Nancy, 84, was last seen Jan. 31, and investigators believe she was abducted from her Tucson home in the early morning hours of Feb. 1. No suspects or persons of interest have been publicly identified in the kidnapping itself.

The FBI has released surveillance footage that appears to show a masked, armed person tampering with a Nest camera at Nancy’s front door on the morning she was taken. The agency described the individual as a man about 5-foot-9 to 5-foot-10 with an average build, wearing a black 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack.

Since Nancy went missing, multiple ransom notes seeking multimillion-dollar payments in bitcoin have also been sent to local news outlets, but federal investigators said Callella is not connected to those messages.

Investigators say they traced the Feb. 4 texts to a phone number linked to Callella and took him into custody. During an interview, Callella allegedly admitted sending the messages and told agents he found the family’s information online and had been following the case on television, the complaint says.

At a Feb. 5 press conference, an FBI agent said someone had been charged in connection with an imposter ransom demand. Callella was later identified as the suspect.

Federal authorities said they will continue pursuing anyone who attempts to interfere with the investigation or profit from the family’s distress. The FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information that leads to Nancy’s recovery or an arrest.