{"id":2564970,"date":"2026-02-05T19:59:01","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T00:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-fbi-arrests-man-for-allegedly-targeting-nancy-guthries-family-with-demands-3\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T20:05:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T01:05:21","slug":"breaking-fbi-arrests-man-for-allegedly-targeting-nancy-guthries-family-with-demands-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-fbi-arrests-man-for-allegedly-targeting-nancy-guthries-family-with-demands-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking: FBI Arrests Man for Allegedly Targeting Nancy Guthrie&#8217;s Family with Demands"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbreaking-fbi-arrests-man-for-allegedly-targeting-nancy-guthries-family-with-demands-3%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2564970&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A Los Angeles man was arrested by the FBI on Thursday for allegedly sending texts to the Guthrie family asking for bitcoin as a ransom to recover missing 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie. The texts are not believed to be connected to the ransom demand that officials say was received via an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-fbi-arrests-man-for-allegedly-targeting-nancy-guthries-family-with-demands-2\/\" title=\"Breaking: FBI Arrests Man for ... Targeting ...&#039;s Family with Demands\">online tip portal<\/a>.the suspect, Derrick Callella, allegedly used a VOIP app and was identified after investigators obtained an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/parler-worked-with-fbi-to-target-threats-prior-to-capitol-riot-company-says\/\" title=\"Parler Worked With FBI To Target Threats Prior To Capitol Riot, Company Says\">emergency disclosure<\/a> to a mobile carrier, which helped link his IP address to a California address. Callella faces two counts: transmitting a ransom demand related to a kidnapped person and engaging in <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >anonymous interstate communications intended<\/a> to harass or threaten.<\/p>\n<p>The Guthrie family, including NBC host Savannah guthrie, released a video appealing for the kidnapper to come forward and provide proof of life. Shortly after the video, two members of the family reportedly received messages from Callella referencing bitcoin and the transaction.President Donald Trump said the federal government would marshal whatever resources are necessary in the search. The report cites coverage from Fox News and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kansas-ag-sues-pfizer-for-falsely-representing-and-suppressing-the-truth-about-its-covid-jab\/\" title=\"Kansas Attorney General Sues Pfizer, Accusing the Company of Misrepresentation and Concealing Information About COVID Vaccine\">related social media posts<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>The FBI arrested a Los Angeles man Thursday who allegedly sent texts to Nancy Guthrie&rsquo;s family seeking a bitcoin payment as a ransom to return the missing 84-year-old.<\/p>\n<p>Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin reported, &ldquo;Derrick Callella has been arrested by the FBI for allegedly sending texts to the Guthrie family to ask for bitcoin and see if they would respond. His text messages are *not* believed to be connected to the ransom demand.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Feds say he tried to use a VOIP [voice over internet protocol] app which they were able to quickly get around via an emergency disclosure request to their mobile carrier, then they found his IP address and linked it to his California address,&rdquo; Melugin added.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">BREAKING: A Los Angeles man named Derrick Callella has been arrested by the FBI for allegedly sending texts to the Guthrie family to ask for bitcoin and see if they would respond. His text messages are *not* believed to be connected to the ransom demand.<\/p>\n<p>How they caught him &amp;&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/BrPjcgYHxt\">pic.twitter.com\/BrPjcgYHxt<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BillMelugin_\/status\/2019508387449561292?\">February 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>The two<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-fbi-arrests-man-for-allegedly-targeting-nancy-guthries-family-with-demands\/\" title=\"Breaking: FBI Arrests Man for ... Targeting ...&#039;s Family with Demands\">-count criminal complaint posted<\/a> by Melugin said that KOLD-TV, a CBS affiliate in Tucson, Arizona, received the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/breaking-apparent-ransom-note-emerges-nancy-guthrie-disappearance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ransom demand<\/a> via an online tip portal. Callella is charged with transmitting a ransom demand related to a kidnapped person and engaging in anonymous interstate communications intended to harass or threaten.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The demand listed a Bitcoin wallet address to receive the ransom payment,&rdquo; the complaint said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;After Miranda warnings, Callella[[<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FoxNews\/posts\/pfbid0ijvBeiomDMkmfPr1ZvS91hHYrPfECXhoB9hAfTxjoMGKDMfuNn4TFr1cZBmvPuV6l\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">age 42<\/a>]admitted to sending the two text messages. He admitted to using the VOIP account from which two actual text messages came &hellip; Callella stated that he pulled the family information from a cyber website, and that he had been following along and watching TV.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Guthrie family, including Nancy&rsquo;s daughter, NBC host <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/police-sources-detail-grim-findings-house-savannah-guthries-mother\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Savannah Guthrie<\/a>, released a heart-wrenching video Wednesday, asking for the kidnapper to reach out to them and to provide proof of life.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">From Savannah Guthrie&rsquo;s Instagram page <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kLbjkhUCIG\">pic.twitter.com\/kLbjkhUCIG<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Steve Lookner (@lookner) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/lookner\/status\/2019220465563365580?\">February 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Shortly after the video was published, one of Guthrie&rsquo;s daughters and a son-in-law both separately received a text message allegedly from Callella saying, &ldquo;Did you get the bitcoin [we&rsquo;re] waiting on our end for the transaction.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>President Donald Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/trump-gives-guthrie-family-everything-can-search-continues-deploying-resources\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> Wednesday that the federal government will commit whatever resources are necessary in the search for Nancy Guthrie.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The FBI arrested Derrick Callella, a 42-year-old man from Los Angeles, for allegedly texting Nancy Guthrie\u2019s family to request bitcoin as a ransom to recover the missing 84-year-old. Fox News\u2019s Bill Melugin said Callella\u2019s messages were intended to see if the family would respond and are not believed to be connected to the official ransom demand, though investigators say he tried to use a VOIP app and was traced via an emergency disclosure to his mobile carrier, linking the activity to his California address. A two-count federal complaint notes that a ransom demand related to a kidnapping was received by KOLD-TV in Tucson through an online tip portal, and Callella is charged with transmitting a ransom demand and with anonymous interstate communications intended to harass or threaten. He reportedly admitted, after Miranda warnings, to sending two texts and said he used a VOIP account and had pulled the family information from a cyber site while following the case on TV. The Guthrie family posted a video appealing to the kidnapper for contact and proof of life; shortly after, one of Nancy Guthrie\u2019s daughters and her son-in-law received a text allegedly from Callella asking whether they had received the bitcoin and noting that they were waiting on the transaction. President Donald Trump said the federal government would commit whatever resources are needed to pursue Nancy Guthrie<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2564971,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Guthrie-bitcoin-demand-arrest.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4038,5175,50645,6896],"class_list":["post-2564970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-alleged","tag-arrest","tag-fbi-2","tag-targeting"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Guthrie-bitcoin-demand-arrest.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2564970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2564970"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2564970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2564980,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2564970\/revisions\/2564980"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2564971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2564970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2564970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2564970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}