Nancy Guthrie case: A federal criminal complaint filed in Arizona charges a man named Derrick Calella with sending harassing text messages to Today host Savannah Guthrie shortly after the release of an alleged ransom video. The incident happened a few days after the television presenter’s mother was abducted.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos gives an update on the investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of US journalist and television host Savannah Guthrie, who disappeared from her home in Tucson, Arizona, USA on February 5, 2026. REUTERS/Rebecca Noble (REUTERS)At a press conference Thursday, Pima County officials revealed that the FBI had arrested a fraudster who submitted a fake ransom note to law enforcement because they wanted to profit from the situation. It is not clear if Calella was the same person.
complaint surfaceAccording to the complaint, on or about February 4, the kidnapping victim’s daughter and son-in-law each received a text message from the phone number 760-209-0552 that said: “Did you get the Bitcoin? [sic] Awaiting our end of transaction.”
“AC and TC received messages while in Arizona.” Here’s AC Annie and Tommaso Cioni.
The IP address is associated with a California addressLaw enforcement has traced the 0552 number to a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) application that allows users to obtain secondary phone numbers. An emergency disclosure request revealed the number was registered to the email address derrickcallella@gmail.com, the complaint said.
More Read
The records also showed that the number was accessed from IP address 70.93.243.103 on February 4, 2026 at approximately 6:02 PM. That IP address was linked to a residence in Calellas, California
Derrick Kalella admitsAfter receiving Miranda warnings, Calella admitted to sending two text messages and using a VoIP account. He told investigators he got family information from a “cyber website” and “watched and followed TV.” He claimed he sent the messages “to see if the family would respond.” The data also showed that about three minutes after the texts, Calella made a 9-second call to a family member of Nancy Guthrie.
The complaint states that the two text messages are not linked to the original ransom demand made on February 2, 2026. Colella is accused of unauthorized transmission of messages. The investigation is ongoing.
