A Los Angeles man named Derrick Callella has been arrested and admitted to sending a fake ransom note to the Guthrie family regarding their missing mother Nancy. Derrick reportedly contacted Guthrie’s daughter Annie and her husband, Nancy's son‑in‑law, Tommaso Cioni, seeking to see if the family would respond. "Did you get the bitcoin were [sic] waiting on our end for the transaction." had come from a phone number generated by a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service, that was eventually traced back to Derrick. When confronted by the FBI Callella admitted to sending the two messages after following the case on TV. He wanted to see if relatives would respond.
Records in California show that a Derrick Callella DOB July 25, 1983 was arrested last year as well. He allegedly stole $9,984 in unemployment benefits between May 6, 2020, and Jan 20, 2022. He was arraigned in November, 2025.