Nancy Guthrie Ransom Imposter Identified

On Thursday morning, the FBI revealed that an imposter had been arrested after trying to profit from Savannah Guthrie’s mom Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance.

During a press conference, FBI Agent Heith Janke said, “We have made one arrest related to an imposter ransom demand, and a complaint will be presented to a magistrate judge later today.”

Janke had a message for imposters who are trying to take advantage of the situation, saying, “We will investigate and ensure you are held accountable for your actions.”

Hours later, the imposter was identified as Derrick Callella.

In a criminal complaint obtained by New York Post, Callella was charged with one count of transmitting communication containing any demand or request for ransom in exchange for the release of a kidnapped person and one count of using a telecommunications device to anonymously "abuse, threaten, or harass any specific person.”

Federal prosecutors allege that Callella texted Nancy’s daughter Annie and husband Tommaso Cioni about the disappearance after finding their contact information on a website.

The court docs said, “He said… he was trying to see if the family would respond.”

One of the alleged messages read, “Did you get the bitcoin were [sic] waiting on our end for the transaction.”

After the messages were reported, investigators were able to track the phone number to a residence in Los Angeles and an arrest was made.

While Janke insisted that the imposter was not actually connected to the case, they are investigating the other ransoms that have been sent to the media.

Janke confirmed that one of the notes has a deadline of 5 p.m. Thursday. If not met, a second deadline was set for Monday. 

Janke said, “In a normal kidnapping case, there would be contact by now, trying to discuss that. But those are the time frames we're looking at as we move forward."

The FBI is taking the ransom letters “seriously.” Janke emphasized, “We are in communication with the family. While we advise and recommend, from a law enforcement perspective, any action taken on any ransom is ultimately decided by the family.”

Last night, Savannah and her siblings released a video asking for proof of life from the abductor.

Earlier today, an Arizona news anchor reported on a ransom note that came via email. Anchor Mary Coleman shared, “A lot of it is information that only someone who was holding her for ransom would know… It also included a dollar amount, a deadline, and, again, other specifics that only Guthrie’s abductor might know, so that definitely raised some red flags.”

There is no suspect identified yet, but investigators aren’t ruling anyone out. At Thursday’s press conference, Sheriff Chris Nanos said, “We're actively looking at everybody we come across, in this case, everybody. We would be irresponsible if we didn't talk to everybody."