Nancy Guthrie Ransom Note Leads to 1st Charge in Case Amid Report ‘Walls’ Are ‘Closing in’ on Her Abductors
The Nancy Guthrie investigation has been going on for over two months, and yet there is not a lot of confirmed information about what happened or who was responsible. Police have yet to identify a suspect or disclose a motive. However, law enforcement has been working hard to rule out some possibilities, and a lot of those have to do with the multiple ransom notes received.
Now, we’ve got the first charge in the case. Derrick Callella, a Los Angeles-area man, was arrested four days after the disappearance for texting the Guthrie family about Bitcoin. Now, he’s been charged. Police believe most of the ransom notes received were fake.
Related: Who are Savannah Guthrie’s siblings?
“Callella has been charged via a criminal complaint filed in federal court for transmitting a demand for ransom in interstate commerce, and without disclosing his identity,” the FBI said in an official statement, “utilizing a telecommunications device with the intent to abuse, threaten, or harass a person.”
“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,” FBI Phoenix Special Agent in Charge Heith Janke said.
According to KGUN 9 in Tucson, a trial date has been set for the federal courthouse in Tucson on June 23.
“The grand jury indictment describes how he sent two text messages to two members of the Guthrie family on February fourth asking quote ‘Did you get the 12 bitcoin? We’re waiting on our end for the transaction,’” the television station reported. “Investigators discovered Callella was acting as an imposter.”
All of this comes after an FBI expert has suggested that Savannah Guthrie’s return to the Today show could put a lot more pressure on the kidnappers. Former FBI agent Jason Pack told Page Six, “Every day that passes the pressure builds. Keeping a secret like this is exhausting. … and that gets harder with every morning that Savannah Guthrie sits behind that anchor desk.”
He also explained how this case is fundamentally different from others. “Most criminals in cases like this count on the media moving on,” he said. “They count on the family fading from public view. They count on people forgetting. This case is different. Savannah has a national platform and she shows up on it every single day. Every time a viewer sees her face, they think about her mother.”
“Add a reward of more than one million dollars and the full weight of FBI resources and you have a situation where the walls are not just closing, but they are closing from every direction at once,” he explained.
Not just for the kidnappers, but for anyone who might know something. “At some point, someone is going to have the courage to make that call,” he said. “One phone call from someone who decides the reward money matters more than their silence is all it takes to bring law enforcement directly to their front door.”
The reward for information about Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance stands at over $1 million.
