A Californian man has pleaded guilty to harassment after he was found to be demanding money from the family of Nancy Guthrie, the missing 84-year-old mother of Today show star Savannah Guthrie.
Nancy went missing from her home in Tucson, Arizona, on February 1, after spending the previous night out with her family.
Ransom note arrest
© InstagramThe 42-year-old pleaded guilty to two counts of harassment using a telecommunications device on Thursday, per a press release from the US Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona.
Court records state that the man texted Nancy's daughter, Annie Guthrie, and her son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, on February 4, just after the family released their first video message asking her kidnappers for her safe return.
"[The man] acknowledged that he knew an earlier ransom demand had been made," said the press release. "Callella also admitted that his actions were meant to harass the family by seeking information about the investigation into the missing person's disappearance."
© InstagramThe text message reportedly read: "Did you get the bitcoin were [sic] waiting on our end for the transaction."
The individual is facing the possibility of two years in prison or a $250,000 fine (or both), or probation for up to 10 years with a plea deal. As per KOLD, he was set to check in to a residential addiction treatment facility. The man will be sentenced on September 10.
Digging deep
© WireImageAuthorities have ramped up their investigations into the ransom notes the family had received in the wake of Nancy's disappearance, with the FBI's Phoenix Field Office sharing on Wednesday that they were busy sorting through which were legitimate and which were fake.
"Several ransom demands have been received throughout this investigation," the FBI's statement read. "Some have been deemed to be extortion attempts without legitimacy. Other ransom demands may potentially be legitimate and are still being investigated as such."
Previous ransom notes that were sent to Nancy's family and various media outlets claimed that she had passed away, and asked for money to return her body.
The mystery continues
© Getty ImagesNancy's disappearance continues to baffle authorities, after she disappeared from her home in the early hours of February 1.
She had been dropped home by a family member on January 31 just before 10 p.m., and her doorbell camera was disconnected at 1:47 a.m. Her pacemaker app then disconnected from her phone at 2:28 a.m., suggesting she had moved out of range.
Police have yet to arrest anyone on suspicion of kidnapping Nancy, and are hard at work undergoing DNA testing. The only breakthrough in the case so far came when the FBI released video footage from her doorbell camera that saw a masked individual dressed in a balaclava and carrying a gun who attempted to dismantle the camera.
Savannah's plea
Savannah has returned to the Today desk as the search continues for her mother, and the journalist has continued to plead for any information on Nancy's whereabouts.
"Someone knows something. And this story today is a news story on your radar, but this is the life my sister lives, that I live, that my brother lives, that our extended families live, that our children live, every day," she said on the show on June 22.
"And we are in agony. We cannot be in peace, however much I try to come out here every day, and I will find that joy, I promise I will. But we need your help. We are begging for your help, and I'm not going to miss that opportunity."
