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International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
Jim Yango Fantonial

Who Is Derrick Callella and How Is He Connected to the Nancy Guthrie Kidnapping Case?

Derrick Callella, a California man, has pleaded guilty to sending a fake ransom demand linked to Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance. (Credit: Screenshot/Youtube)

A 42-year-old California resident has been convicted of weaponising the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, after admitting to sending a fraudulent ransom demand to her grieving relatives.

Derrick Callella, a 42-year-old resident of Hawthorne, California, pleaded guilty on 2 July 2026 in a Tucson federal court to two counts of harassment using a telecommunication device. According to the US Department of Justice, his actions represent a disturbing trend of opportunism, as investigators continue to comb through leads regarding the abduction of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, who vanished from her Catalina Foothills home in Tucson on 1 February 2026.

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