Savannah Guthrie with her mom Nancy Guthrie (Image: WireImage)
An imposter who demanded Bitcoin from Savannah Guthrie’s family following the disappearance of her mom, Nancy Guthrie, has been pictured unsmiling in a new photo.
On Thursday, the FBI brought two criminal charges against Los Angeles man Derrick Callella after he texted members of Nancy’s family demanding Bitcoin payment.
The man, who is currently in custody and charged in a federal courthouse in Tucson, can be seen looking serious in a photo that emerged after his arrest.
The man, in his 40s, told law enforcement he found the family’s information online after learning about the 84-year-old woman’s disappearance on the news.
According to the FBI, he sent to text’s to Nancy’s daughter Annie and son-in-law “to see if the family would respond.”
Derrick Callella was arrested and charged for sending fake text messages demanding Bitcoin payments (Image: California Department of Motor Vehicles)
About three minutes after sending the texts, he called another family member for just nine seconds before hanging up.
It is unclear what – if anything – was said during the brief phone call, or whether he sent any further messages requesting any specific amount of money.
The FBI used the man’s IP address to track him back to his home in California. There is no indication that he is suspected of having a role in the disappearance, according to a court filing.
Nancy was last seen after being dropped off at her home on Saturday night and she was reported missing on Sunday after she failed to show up to church, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said.
The search for the woman is continuing and the FBI, involved in the case alongside the sheriff’s office, has offered a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to “the recovery of Nancy Guthrie and/or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance.”
The FBI said it is investigating a ransom note sent to at least three news organizations. The note had a deadline of 5 p.m. on Thursday, but there was no contact or proof of life from the kidnappers.
Yesterday, Savannah’s brother renewed the family’s plea for their mother’s kidnapper to contact them, hours after the sheriff said investigators don’t have proof Nancy is alive but believe “she’s still out there.”
“Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We haven’t heard anything directly,” Camron Guthrie said in a video posted on social media.
“We need you to reach out and we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward,” but first the family needs to know the kidnapper has their mother, he said, echoing a statement his famous sister read the day before.
The search for Nancy is continuing (Image: Instagram)
Five days into the desperate search for the 84-year-old, authorities have not identified any suspects or persons of interest, Nanos said.
Authorities think she was taken against her will from her home in Tucson over the weekend. DNA tests showed blood found on Guthrie’s front porch was a match to her, the sheriff said.
“Right now, we believe Nancy is still out there. We want her home,” Nanos said at a news conference earlier Thursday. He acknowledged, however, that authorities have no evidence she’s okay.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.the-express.com ’
