TRUE CRIME NEWSNancy Guthrie Case: Pima County Sheriff's Department Hits Back at Kash Patel's Claim FBI Was 'Kept' From Investigation in 'Critical' First Days
The FBI director accused local authorities of hindering the investigation into Nancy Guthrie's disappearance.
May 6 2026, Updated 12:46 p.m. ET
Local police handling Nancy Guthrie's case slammed Kash Patel's accusation that the FBI was "kept" from participating in the investigation early on.
“Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos is aware of FBI Director Kash Patel’s recent interview and statement,” a spokesperson for the department said in a statement published on Wednesday, May 6. “Sheriff Nanos responded to the scene the night of the incident, providing immediate local leadership and oversight."
'Coordination With the Bureau Began Without Delay'
The Arizona police force refuted Kash Patel's claims.
“A member of the FBI Task Force was also notified and present at that scene working alongside our personnel," it continued. "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.”
During a Tuesday, May 5, appearance on the "Hang Out With Sean Hannity" podcast, Patel, 46, accused the Arizona police force of refusing to let the FBI get involved in the search for Today star Savannah Guthrie's mom, 84, who vanished on February 1.
"The first 48 hours of anyone's disappearance are the most critical," Kash explained. "What we the FBI do, is say, 'Hey, we're here to help, what do you need?'"
'For Four Days, We Were Kept Out'
A masked man was seen at Nancy Guthrie's front door.
While he admitted it's a "local law enforcement matter," he told Sean Hannity during the Fox News show that "for four days, we were kept out of the investigation."
"When we were finally let in, look at what we did. We went in and got the Ring doorbell," Kash declared, referring to the shocking footage of a masked suspect captured on Nancy's front porch around the time she was allegedly abducted from her Tucson, Ariz., area home in the middle of the night.
The security video was initially believed to be unavailable due to lack of a subscription service.
- Kash Patel Loses It Over Nancy Guthrie Case as He Bashes Pima County Sheriff's Department for Delaying FBI in 'Critical' Moment of Investigation
- 'Makes No Sense': Former Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino Criticizes the Way Savannah Guthrie’s Mom's Disappearance Has Been Handled
- Sheriff Refutes Claims FBI Is Blocked From Accessing Key Evidence in Search for Savannah Guthrie's Mom
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'That's Why You Have That Image'
The FBI coordinated with Google to get the doorbell camera footage released.
"We said, 'Hey, is anyone talking to leadership at Google?' We know that there was not a subscription service to capture all of the data ... but can we go into the cache, can we go into the data before it's deleted and see what we can find?" Kash continued.
"That's why you have that image, because the FBI worked with Google to put that image out," he said, claiming local authorities prevented the development from happening sooner.
Kash also slammed the police department's decision to send key evidence recovered at the crime scene to a private lab in Florida instead of the FBI's.
'We Would Have Analyzed It Within Days'
DNA evidence was collected from the 84-year-old's home.
"It's their call on where to send the DNA; we have Quantico, the best lab in the world, I had a fixed-wing aircraft on the ground ready to move it immediately," he explained. "They said we're sending it to Florida."
"We would have analyzed it within days and maybe gotten better information or more information," Kash insisted. "Our lab's just better than any other private lab out there and we didn't get a chance to do that."
It was recently revealed that the "potentially critical" DNA evidence is now undergoing analysis at Quantico.
