FBI Director Kash Patel has ignited a dispute with local law enforcement over the handling of the Nancy Guthrie disappearance, alleging in an interview Tuesday that the bureau was deliberately sidelined for four days during the initial phase of the probe.
Appearing on Sean Hannity's podcast, Patel stressed the urgency of the first 48 hours in missing-person cases and said the FBI was ready to assist from the start. “For four days we were kept out of the investigation,” Patel told Hannity, adding that the bureau typically offers state and local authorities support, but in this instance, that offer was not accepted.
Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of NBC anchor Savannah Guthrie, vanished from her home near Tucson, Arizona, on the night of Jan. 31. Investigators believe she was taken against her will. Patel credited the FBI with eventually obtaining crucial surveillance footage from Guthrie's Ring doorbell camera, which he released publicly on Feb. 10. The footage shows a masked individual wearing gloves and a backpack approaching the front door.
Patel said he personally contacted Google to access the footage, bypassing what he implied was a slower process by local authorities. “That's why you have that image, because the FBI worked with Google to put that image out,” he said. The release came after Patel stated the FBI and the Pima County Sheriff's Department were collaborating with private partners to recover evidence.
During the interview, Hannity pressed Patel on why the sheriff's department sent DNA collected from Guthrie's home to a private lab in Florida rather than the FBI's lab in Quantico, Virginia. Patel called the decision a state and local matter but noted, “Our lab's just better than any other private lab out there, and we didn't get the chance to do that.” He added that the FBI could have analyzed the DNA within days and possibly obtained better information.
Hannity labeled the choice a “bad call,” and Patel responded, “Well, that's for the American public to decide.” The remarks highlight tensions between federal and local agencies, a dynamic that has surfaced in other recent stories, such as when Walz and Patel clashed over credit for Minnesota fraud raids.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos pushed back firmly in a Tuesday statement. Nanos said he responded to the scene the night after the incident and notified an FBI task force member immediately. “The FBI was promptly notified by both our department and the Guthrie family,” Nanos wrote. “While the FBI Director was not on scene, coordination with the Bureau began without delay.”
Nanos defended the decision to use a private lab, citing operational needs, and said the private lab and the FBI lab have worked in close partnership from the outset. “We remain committed to a thorough, coordinated and fact-based investigation and will continue working closely with our federal partners,” he concluded.
The dispute underscores broader questions about interagency cooperation in high-profile missing-person cases. Patel's comments come as the FBI faces scrutiny over other matters, including a probe into a New York Times reporter over an article about Patel's girlfriend, which has raised press freedom concerns. Meanwhile, the search for Nancy Guthrie continues, with no public updates on her whereabouts.
