FBI Was Kept 'Out' of Nancy Guthrie Investigation for 4 Days, Claims Embattled Director Kash Patel

FBI Director Kash Patel claimed that the agency was "kept out" of the investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today Show host Savannah Guthrie, for the first four days after she went missing on February 1.

Speaking on the "Hang Out with Sean Hannity" podcast, Patel stated that the first 48 hours are critical in any disappearance and criticized the Pima County Sheriff’s Department for sidelining federal assistance during that window.

The embattled FBI Director alleged the FBI was excluded for four days before being allowed to assist. He claimed that once involved, the FBI successfully worked with Google to recover previously inaccessible footage from a doorbell camera of a suspect.

"I called the leadership at Google, and I said, 'Look, we know that there was not a subscription service to capture all of the data that would have been captured had there been a subscription service. But can we go into the cache? Can we go into the deep data before it's deleted and see what we can find?' Patel said. "That's why you have that image, because the FBI worked with Google to put that image out," he said.

"For four days we were kept out of the investigation," Patel said. "The first 48 hours of anyone's disappearance are the most critical."

Patel also criticized Sheriff Chris Nanos for sending DNA evidence to a private lab in Florida instead of the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, which Patel claims could have analyzed the samples within days.

"We have Quantico, best lab in the world," Patel said, claiming he had a plane "ready to move it immediately through the night."

He added, "I understand everybody's frustrations."

Nanos has disputed Patel’s claims, stating that a member of the FBI Task Force was notified and present at the scene the night Guthrie disappeared. The department maintains that they worked with federal partners "without delay.”

"Sheriff Nanos responded to the scene the night of the incident, providing immediate local leadership and oversight. A member of the FBI Task Force was also notified and present at that scene working alongside our personnel. The FBI was promptly notified by both our department and the Guthrie family. While the FBI Director was not on scene, coordination with the Bureau began without delay," the sheriff’s department said in a statement.

“The laboratory utilized by the Pima County Sheriff's Department and the FBI Laboratory in Quantico have worked in close partnership from the outset and continue to collaborate in the analysis of evidence," the sheriff's office statement said. "We remain committed to a thorough, coordinated, and fact-based investigation and will continue working closely with our federal partners as the process moves forward."

Patel confirmed that the Bureau is now analyzing a rootless hair sample recovered from Nancy's home. This sample was originally sent by the Pima County Sheriff’s Office to a private lab in Florida, where it remained for 11 weeks before being transferred to the FBI Laboratory in Quantico for advanced testing.

Nancy has been missing for over three months.

While the FBI has released images of a suspect — a male approximately 5'9" to 5'10" with an average build — no suspects have been publicly named or charged.

The Guthrie family is offering up to $1 million for information leading to Nancy's recovery.