{"id":2565015,"date":"2026-02-05T20:44:01","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T01:44:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-fbi-arrests-man-for-allegedly-targeting-nancy-guthries-family-with-demands-6\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T20:49:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T01:49:04","slug":"breaking-fbi-arrests-man-for-allegedly-targeting-nancy-guthries-family-with-demands-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-fbi-arrests-man-for-allegedly-targeting-nancy-guthries-family-with-demands-6\/","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-6%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=2565015&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,Derrick Callella,has been arrested by the FBI for allegedly texting the Guthrie family and asking for Bitcoin as a ransom to return Nancy Guthrie,who is missing. The texts are not believed to be connected to a ransom demand, according to Fox News\u2019 Bill Melugin, and investigators say Callella tried to use a VOIP app, which was traced to his California address after 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 request<\/a>. He is charged with transmitting a ransom demand related to a kidnapped person and engaging in <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 Allegedly Targeting Nancy Guthrie&#039;s Family with Demands\">anonymous interstate communications<\/a> to harass or threaten.<\/p>\n<p>The Guthrie family, including Savannah Guthrie, released a video appealing for proof of life, and shortly after, two of Nancy Guthrie\u2019s relatives reportedly received texts from Callella about the Bitcoin transaction. The two-count criminal complaint notes that the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >ransom demand reportedly arrived<\/a> via an online tip portal to a Tucson television station (KOLD-TV),and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-fbi-arrests-man-for-allegedly-targeting-nancy-guthries-family-with-demands-5\/\" title=\"Breaking: FBI Arrests Man for Allegedly Targeting Nancy Guthrie&#039;s Family with Demands\">callella reportedly admitted<\/a> to sending the messages after warnings. President Donald Trump said the federal government would commit whatever resources are necessary to search for Nancy Guthrie.  <\/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-count criminal complaint posted 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 <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 Allegedly Targeting Nancy Guthrie&#039;s Family with Demands\">anonymous interstate communications intended<\/a> 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>A Los Angeles man, Derrick Callella, was arrested by the FBI on Thursday on charges related to texting Nancy Guthrie\u2019s family and asking for Bitcoin as a ransom to help return the missing 84-year-old. Federal prosecutors say the messages were not believed to be connected to the actual ransom demand. Investigators traced Callella\u2019s communications after he tried to use a VOIP app, obtained his IP address via an emergency disclosure from his mobile carrier, and tied it to his California address.<\/p>\n<p>The two-count complaint accuses Callella of transmitting a ransom demand concerning a kidnapped person and of engaging in anonymous interstate communications intended to harass or threaten. Callella allegedly admitted, after receiving Miranda warnings, to sending the two texts and to using the VOIP account, saying he had pulled the Guthrie family\u2019s information from a cyber site and had been following the case on TV.<\/p>\n<p>The Guthrie family had posted a request for contact and proof of life from the kidnapper. After that video went public, one of Guthrie\u2019s daughters and her husband reportedly received a text from Callella asking if they had received the Bitcoin payment and noting that they were \u201cwaiting on our end for the transaction.\u201d President Donald Trump said the federal government would marshal whatever resources are needed in the search for Nancy Guthrie<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2565016,"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":[72998,70371,4201,73008,72994],"class_list":["post-2565015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-alleged-targeting","tag-breaking-news-2","tag-demands","tag-fbi-arrests-2","tag-nancy-guthrie-2"],"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\/2565015","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=2565015"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2565015\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2565024,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2565015\/revisions\/2565024"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2565016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2565015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2565015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2565015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}