NEWS'Makes No Sense': Former Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino Criticizes the Way Savannah Guthrie’s Mom's Disappearance Has Been Handled
Former Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino slammed the Pima County Sheriff's Department.
Feb. 17 2026, Published 2:36 p.m. ET
Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino criticized Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos for his handling of the investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie.
Bongino told Fox News host Sean Hannity it makes "zero sense" that the sheriff’s department is not fully utilizing the FBI’s advanced technology and resources.
Reports indicate Nanos sent a crucial piece of evidence — a glove found near the scene — to a private lab in Florida rather than the FBI’s lab in Virginia.
'The Cooperation Has Not Been Spectacular'
Dan Bongino doesn’t believe Nancy Guthrie’s case has been properly handled.
Bongino, who clashed with the Department of Justice over what he described as its mishandling of the Epstein files and cited the personal toll the job took on him in announcing his resignation, argued that the FBI has superior forensic resources and extensive experience handling high-profile kidnappings.
“The cooperation here has not been spectacular. The decision to send this DNA sample to a private lab was just disastrous . . . what you’re looking at now is another delay. It was unnecessary. Just send it to the FBI lab," he said.
"The cops on the street are the best of the best of the best,” he added, noting when it comes to technical specs, the FBI specialists look at DNA processing. “That’s all they do. They look at specific things."
'The FBI Is Not in the Habit of Turning Away Information'
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- Donald Trump Claims Local Authorities Didn’t Want to 'Let Go' of Nancy Guthrie Abduction Case as He Alleges FBI Has Made 'Progress'
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The FBI has offered a $100,000 reward for Nancy Guthrie’s safe return.
"It doesn’t make any sense why the sheriff is taking advantage of taxpayer funded lab technologies the FBI specializes in,” he said.
As for the ransom notes reported by TMZ, Bongino said, “I live by Ocam’s Razor. Keep it simple stupid. There’s a lot of assumptions. . . maybe this guy is just playing TMZ. .. but the FBI is not, at least when I was there, in the habit of turning away information.”
The FBI has deployed specialized "signal sniffer" technology to attempt to detect transmissions from Nancy's pacemaker. Critics suggest that local authorities should be more integrated with these federal efforts to expedite the search.
FBI Reportedly Clashed With Pima County Sheriff in Search for Nancy Guthrie
Nancy Guthrie has been missing since January 31.
Bongino has questioned the kidnapping-for-ransom theory, suggesting three possibilities: an intended kidnapping, a botched burglary or a medical emergency that has been misinterpreted. He expressed frustration that the sheriff has remained the lead agency despite the case's complexity and national profile.
Nancy disappeared from her Tucson home on January 31. While the FBI is involved, Nanos has maintained primary control of the investigation, asserting that his agency is capable of handling the case and denying significant tension with federal partners.
