As the search for 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie enters into its sixth day, federal and local investigators are looking into all possible links to the mysterious disappearance of the "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie's mother, who was reported missing on Sunday.
As reported by The Tribune, two teens from San Luis Obispo County, California, were arrested in a home invasion in Scottsdale, Arizona, tied to a $66 million cryptocurrency extortion scheme. The home invasion took place on the same day Nancy Guthrie was last seen before she disappeared from her Tucson home located about two hours away.
Teens Disguised Themselves as Delivery Drivers, Forced Their Way into a Home, Bound the Residents Using Duct Tape and Demanded Access to Their Bitcoin
Jackson Sullivan, 17 of San Luis Obispo, and Skylar LaPaille, 16 of Morro Bay, were arrested on Saturday, Jan. 31, in Scottsdale after police said they posed as delivery drivers, forced entry into a home, restrained the residents using duct tape and then fled when police arrived.
LaPaille told cops that he and Sullivan has met recently and had been extortedover the Signal app by two subjects known as "Red" and "8" into traveling to Arizona to commit the alleged crimes. They were allegedly sent from California with $1,000 to purchase supplies for disguises, restraints and burglary tools and "demanded" that the male victim allow them access to his bitcoin.
When the male victim said he didn't have bitcoin, the suspect allegedly forced his head into the ground. An adult son in the home was able to call police from another room. The teens fled as police arrived on the scene but were subsequently chased and arrested by officers.
Both teens face several felony charges, including burglary, aggravated assault and kidnapping. They were reportedly in possession of a 3D-printed gun, though police said it contained no ammunition, and its functionality remains unknown.
Nancy Guthrie was Possibly Abducted on the Same Day, Her Blood was Found on the Porch
Co-incidentally, the home invasion happened in Scottsdale, about two hours north of Tucson, where investigators are still trying to piece together the events that led to Nancy Guthrie's disappearance.
Nancy Guthrie was last seen at home at around 9:30 p.m. Jan. 31, according to the Pima County Sheriff's Department. Investigators believed Gutherie was kidnapped or abducted. Her blood was found on her porch during the investigation, authorities said Thursday.
Ransom Note Sent to TMZ Demanded Millions in Crypto, California Man Arrested for Sending Another Ransom to Guthrie Family Demanding Cryptocurrency
TMZ reported receiving a possible ransom note that demanded millions of dollars in cryptocurrency be sent to a specific bitcoin address. The note, sent to the TMZ newsroom on Feb. 2, allegedly contained a deadline. The note TMZ received reportedly contained "an element of 'or else'."
The note lists two deadlines, the latter of which TMZ said is "much more serious." The first deadline was 5 p.m. Thursday, the FBI confirmed. The second deadline is Monday.
On Thursday, a California man was arrested for sending an "imposter ransom" letter to family members of Nancy Guthrie. Derrick Callella, 42, was arrested in Hawthorne, Calif., on suspicion of two counts of allegedly transmitting a ransom demand and making a phone call to members of the Guthrie "to abuse, threaten, or harass," a complaint filed Thursday in U.S. District Court of Arizona said.
The bogus ransom was made shortly after Savannah Guthrie and her siblings posted a video on social media pleading for their mother's return, FBI Special Agent Kerry Witherspoon said in the complaint.
Savannah Guthrie's sister, Annie, and brother-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, separately received a text message from a phone number with a 760 area code. It stated: "Did you get the bitcoin were [sic] waiting on our end for the transaction," the complaint says.
Witherspoon confirmed the two text messages are not linked to the Feb. 2 ransom demand some media outlets received.
