A bitter turf war has erupted between local law enforcement and the FBI in the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie. Guthrie was abducted from her Arizona home on the evening of January 31 and has not been seen since.
FBI Director Blasts Local Authorities
FBI Director Kash Patel has publicly criticized the Pima County Sheriff's Department and Sheriff Chris Nano, who have been leading the probe. Patel claims that local officials have obstructed federal involvement, particularly during the critical early days of the investigation. Speaking on Fox News' Sean Hannity Show late Tuesday, Patel expressed his frustration.
“The first 48 hours of anyone’s disappearance are the most critical,” Patel said. “Here’s how these cases work: It is a state matter, it’s a state and local law enforcement matter. What we, the FBI do is say, ‘Hey, we’re here to help. What do you need? What can we do?’”
According to Patel, the FBI was excluded from the investigation for four days. He claimed that federal agents made the first major breakthrough by obtaining CCTV footage showing a masked suspect destroying Guthrie's doorbell camera moments before her abduction.
“That’s why you have that image, because the FBI worked with Google to put that image out,” Patel stated, adding that more evidence could have been gathered if the FBI had been involved from the start.
DNA Evidence Sent to Private Lab
The FBI was also baffled when local authorities sent DNA evidence to a private lab in Florida instead of to the FBI's own facility. “We were saying, ‘We’ll process it.’ I launched hundreds of agents and intel staff to Phoenix and Tucson just for this case, just to be on standby, just to do the canvassing and we said we’ll take the DNA,” Patel said. He noted that a plane was ready to transport the samples to Quantico immediately.
“What we can do is continue to offer support. We would have analyzed it within days and maybe gotten better information or more information. Our lab’s just better than any other private lab out there,” Patel added. “And we didn’t get a chance to do that. I understand everybody’s frustration.”
Criticism of Local Investigation
The FBI is not alone in its criticism of the sheriff's department. An anonymous whistleblower told NewsNation that the investigation was mishandled from the start. “From what I understand, the people that were there on the scene were not tenured homicide detectives,” the whistleblower said. “They didn’t have a lot of experience in homicide at that point, to include the supervisor who, from my understanding, never investigated a homicide before being installed as the supervisor for the homicide unit.”
Despite the squabbling, there has been little progress in the Guthrie case. A former FBI agent suggested that a lone abductor was responsible. Investigators found a glove with a DNA profile and hair samples at the scene, but the DNA analysis may take months to yield results.
A spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriff's Department stated, “The Pima County Sheriff’s Department continues to work closely with the FBI as investigators follow up on leads, review information, and pursue the facts surrounding this case.”
The case has garnered national attention due to Savannah Guthrie's celebrity status, and the public remains anxious for answers as the search for Nancy Guthrie continues.
