The disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of NBC's Today show host Savannah Guthrie, has escalated into a violent kidnapping investigation, with authorities now examining unverified claims of a Bitcoin ransom. Nancy was last seen on the evening of January 31 at her home in the Catalina Foothills area of Tucson, Arizona.
Her family reported her missing the next day after she failed to attend church. Investigators from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI discovered blood spatter at her doorstep and found that a Ring doorbell camera had been disabled or removed, indicating she did not leave voluntarily. All her personal belongings, including her phone, wallet, car, and medication, were left behind.
As the investigation unfolded, alleged ransom messages demanding millions of dollars in Bitcoin were sent to the family, complete with a Bitcoin wallet address and a payment deadline. However, law enforcement has not confirmed the authenticity of these demands, and no direct contact has been made between any alleged captors and the Guthrie family.
In a separate development, a California man, Derrick Callella, was arrested for sending fraudulent Bitcoin ransom messages to the family in what authorities described as an opportunistic scam unrelated to the actual kidnapping. The FBI-led investigation remains active, with a $50,000 reward offered for information. Savannah Guthrie has taken time off from her broadcasting duties as the search continues.
