FBI Director Kash Patel has accused the Pima County Sheriff's Department in Arizona of 'keeping the FBI out' of the Nancy Guthrie investigation for four crucial days, saying the delay may have cost detectives the vital first 48-hour window in the case of the missing 84‑year‑old, who vanished from her Tucson home on 1 February.
Kash Patel's Guthrie Case Claims Put Early Response Under Scrutiny
The latest controversy erupted when Kash Patel discussed the Guthrie case on Sean Hannity's podcast, Hang Out with Sean Hannity. Patel, now FBI director, said that 'for four days we were kept out of the investigation', arguing that the Pima County Sheriff's Department initially sidelined federal agents rather than treating them as full partners.
Patel framed that gap as more than an administrative disagreement. He repeatedly stressed that in a disappearance like Nancy Guthrie's, the first 48 hours are often the most valuable for securing leads, preserving physical evidence and coordinating searches before memories fade and digital records vanish.
According to Patel's account, the FBI was ready to move aggressively once it was brought in. He told Hannity the bureau had arranged with Google to recover cached footage from a doorbell camera system, data that might otherwise have been overwritten.
Patel Says FBI Resources Were Rebuffed In Guthrie Case
The sharpest criticism from Patel centres on how DNA evidence was handled. On Hannity's podcast, he said the FBI had 'an airplane ready to take DNA from the Nancy Guthrie crime scene to Quantico' in Virginia for rapid analysis, with the promise that federal labs could have processed it 'within days.'
Instead, Patel said, Sheriff Chris Nanos chose to send the samples to a private laboratory in Florida. 'Our labs are just better than any other private lab out there and we didn't get a chance to do that,' Patel told Hannity, calling the decision a missed opportunity and saying he understood public 'frustrations.'
NewsNation reporter Brian Entin, who has been on the ground in Tucson since the early days of the search, amplified Patel's account on X, noting that he himself 'didn't know about the airplane on standby' until Patel revealed it.
The FBI had an airplane ready to take DNA from the Nancy Guthrie crime scene to Quantico early on, but the sheriff instead decided to send the DNA to a private lab in Florida.
— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) May 5, 2026
I didn't know about the airplane on standby, but Kash Patel said it on Sean Hannity's podcast today.
Entin also highlighted Patel's claim that Nanos 'held off the FBI for 4 full days', a detail that has fuelled anger from some members of the public already sceptical of the sheriff's handling of the case.
Online, criticism of Nanos has hardened into calls for him to step aside, with one commenter accusing him of 'botching this case' and others asking how the Guthrie family must feel watching decisions they see as avoidable.
Pima Sheriff Rejects Patel's Version Of Guthrie Investigation
The Pima County Sheriff's Department has pushed back firmly on Patel's Guthrie case narrative. In a detailed written statement, the department said Sheriff Nanos 'responded to the scene the night of the incident, providing immediate local leadership and oversight', and insisted that an FBI Task Force member '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,' the statement continued. 'While the FBI Director was not on scene, coordination with the Bureau began without delay.'
Statement from Sheriff Chris Nanos: pic.twitter.com/slujYQbncO
— Pima County Sheriff's Department (@PimaSheriff) May 5, 2026
On the contentious question of the Florida lab, the sheriff's office defended the decision as an operational call taken at the scene. It said the laboratory used by Pima County 'and the FBI Laboratory in Quantico have worked in close partnership from the outset and continue to collaborate in the analysis of evidence.'
A later statement, issued as the Guthrie case neared its 100‑day mark, reiterated that 'DNA and video analysis are underway, supported by laboratories across the country', and that advances in technology are assisting the search. Officials said the investigation remains 'active and ongoing' and described their efforts as 'thorough, coordinated, and fact-based.'
Guthrie Family Waits As Public Pressure Mounts
While officials argue over timelines and lab choices, Nancy Guthrie is still missing and her family's ordeal continues. Savannah Guthrie has spoken openly about fearing that her mother may have been targeted because of her public profile, telling Today co‑host Hoda Kotb in March that her brother believed that was 'maybe' the case, though she stressed that the family 'don't know anything.'
Savannah stepped away from Today for two months to focus on the search, and the family has raised the reward for information leading to Nancy's recovery to $1 million (£734,450.00).
On social media, Savannah has leaned heavily on her Christian faith, asking followers on Instagram to 'raise your prayers with us' for 'our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy.'
Investigators, for their part, have urged anyone with information to contact 88‑CRIME or the FBI tip line at 1‑800‑CALL‑FBI, repeating the familiar plea that 'even small details may be significant.'
The results of the DNA testing, now said to be back from the Florida lab and in the hands of the FBI, have not been made public.
Nancy Guthrie — the mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie — was reported missing after relatives discovered she was no longer at her Catalina Foothills house near Tucson. Authorities said she relied on a pacemaker and vital medication, and that her pacemaker stopped syncing with her Apple Watch on the night she disappeared.
Days later, the FBI released black‑and‑white doorbell footage showing a masked man on her porch. Despite that apparent break, no suspect has been named and the investigation has now stretched past the 100‑day mark with no confirmed breakthrough.
