PHOENIX (AZFamily) \u2014A California man is facing federal charges after investigators say he sent messages to the family of Nancy Guthrie, posing as the suspected abductor in the disappearance case.<\/p>\n
Federal documents obtained by Arizona\u2019s Family on Thursday showed that Derrick Callella faces two charges in connection with a phony ransom demand in the search for the mother of network news anchor Savannah Guthrie.<\/p>\n
Court paperwork showed that on Wednesday, Annie Guthrie, Savannah\u2019s sister, and Tommaso Cioni, Nancy\u2019s son-in-law, each got a text from a VOIP (internet) phone line which read: \u201cDid you get the bitcoin were [sic] waiting on our end for the transaction.\u201d <\/p>\n
The feds said the messages were sent moments after family released a video message asking for proof of life<\/a>. <\/p>\n Law enforcement traced the phone line and found it was registered to Callella\u2019s Gmail account and determined the call was made from his California home.<\/p>\n When federal agents arrived at his home, Callella reportedly admitted to sending the two text messages. Investigators later also found out that Callella had also reportedly called a family member about three minutes after the messages were sent, which records showed lasted nine seconds.<\/p>\n Federal authorities said the texts have not been linked to the ransom demand that has been reported by multiple outlets, including TMZ and Arizona\u2019s Family sister station, KOLD 13 News<\/a>.<\/p>\n Early Thursday, investigators said Nancy Guthrie\u2019s blood was found on her porch after she was kidnapped from her Arizona home days ago.<\/p>\n Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said in the morning<\/a> he has no proof that the 84-year-old is still alive, but he is holding out hope she is \u201cstill out there.\u201d<\/p>\n See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it<\/a>.<\/p>\n