Nancy Guthrie, the mother of TODAY co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, was reported missing on February 1, 2026. She was last seen by her family members on January 31 at her Arizona home. However, when she failed to show up at her friends’ place the next day for a virtual church service, her family members informed the police. Since then, the case has taken several turns, with ransom notes being sent to local media outlets.
The first note was sent a couple of days after Nancy Guthrie went missing, noting that the 84-year-old was safe, as they demanded millions via Bitcoins and set two deadlines for February 5 and February 9. The ransom notes were sent to local media outlets. On February 6, 2026, a second note was sent claiming she had died. However, since the situation was sensitive and the investigation was ongoing, they refrained from reporting it at that time. It was publicly reported by NBC News in June, 2026.
On February 7, her children took to social media and posted a video pleading to release their mother, promising they would pay. A third note was reported by TMZ in the following days, in which the sender claimed to know the identities of Nancy Guthrie’s abductors and asked to raise the reward to $100,000. However, in the recent development, the authorities confirmed that three ransom notes of the Nancy Guthrie case were fake. A California man called Derrick Callela pleaded guilty to it.
Here’s more about it.
Nancy Guthrie case update: California man Derrick Callella pleads guilty to sending fake ransom notes
According to the July 2 press release from the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona, News, Derrick Callela pleaded guilty to two counts of harassment using a telecommunication device.
As per prosecutors, he admitted that he called and sent texts to the Guthrie family on February 4, 2026, and demanded millions via bitcoins. The press release read:
“Callella acknowledged that he knew an earlier ransom demand had been made.
The press release continued:
Callella also admitted that his actions were meant to harass the family by seeking information about the investigation into the missing person’s disappearance.”
According to prosecutors, Callela is now facing two years in prison and a $250,000 fine. His sentencing is scheduled for September 10.
Pima County Sheriff, Chris Nanos, during a June 26 episode of a local Tucson news channel 1030 KVOI, AM ‘The Buckmuster Show, said,
“I think the FBI has done a number of arrests for false or fake ransom notes. It is a shame that these types of events occur.”
Nanos further called out the people who send such fake ransom notes for the sake of publicity and how they disturb the flow of the entire investigation.
An FBI official also recently noted that the department has found out the three messages sent to the Guthrie family for allegedly having information on the victim were fake. (Via Reuters).
Savannah has been emotionally shaken by the updates. During the June 23 broadcast of the Today show, she pleaded for help from the common public and added,
“This is the life that my sister lives, I live, that my brother lives, that our extended family lives, that our children live every day. We are in agony.”
Also Read: The hidden meaning behind Nancy Guthrie’s ransom note, revealed
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Edited by Archi Biswas