The quiet Catalina Foothills neighborhood north of Tucson shattered on the morning of February 1st. Nancy Guthrie, 84, vanished from her home, and authorities quickly determined this wasn’t a simple disappearance – it appeared to be a forced abduction.
Her family, including NBC’s Savannah Guthrie, immediately mobilized. Savannah abruptly canceled her planned coverage of the Olympics, returning home consumed with worry as investigators began piecing together the unsettling details of her mother’s vanishing.
The first chilling clue emerged from Nancy’s own home: her doorbell camera had been deliberately removed shortly before 2 a.m. Moments later, motion sensors triggered, and a critical signal was lost – her pacemaker device disconnected from her phone, suggesting a sudden and forceful removal from the house.
A grim discovery followed. A trail of blood led from the front door to the edge of the driveway, a stark and silent testament to a struggle. Despite multiple security cameras, investigators have been unable to recover any usable footage, deepening the mystery and fueling fears.
As days turned into a desperate search, a disturbing new layer unfolded. The Guthrie family began receiving ransom demands, delivered through anonymous channels. The messages, laced with urgency, demanded payment in Bitcoin.
Federal prosecutors have now charged Derek Callella, a man from California, with interstate communication of ransom demands and abusive telecommunications. He allegedly contacted Annie Guthrie and her husband, pressing for the Bitcoin transaction, even questioning if they had “got the bitcoin.”
Investigators traced the threatening texts back to a voice over IP service, capable of masking the sender’s true identity. Further investigation led them to Callella’s Google email account, and during questioning, he reportedly confessed to finding the family’s information online and following the news coverage.
The FBI alleges Callella didn’t stop at text messages; he also made direct phone calls to the family, adding another layer of torment to their already agonizing ordeal. A ransom deadline of 5 p.m. on Thursday passed without proof of life or a viable means of contact from the perpetrators.
Despite the arrest, the search for Nancy Guthrie continues, and the investigation remains focused on uncovering her whereabouts. The chilling details of her abduction and the subsequent extortion attempt have left the family and the community reeling, desperately hoping for her safe return.
Authorities emphasize that no proof of life has been provided, and the situation remains incredibly precarious. The investigation is ongoing, meticulously examining every lead in the hope of bringing Nancy home.
