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Kash Patel said: “For four days we were kept out of the investigation. The first 48 hours of anyone's disappearance are the most critical.”
A photograph of Nancy Guthrie is seen on a sign that people can leave messages on February 26, 2026, in Tucson, Arizona. Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP(Getty Images via AFP)Kash Patel claimed that the FBI was excluded from the critical early phase of the investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, mother of “Today Show” host Savannah Guthrie.
Speaking on a podcast hosted by Sean Hannity, Patel said: “For four days we were kept out of the investigation. The first 48 hours of anyone's disappearance are the most critical.”
Nancy Guthrie has been missing since February 1, and authorities believe she was taken from her home in Tucson, Arizona.
Local authorities hit back
The Pima County Sheriff's Office strongly disputed Patel’s account, stating there was no delay in FBI involvement. In an official statement, the department emphasized: “A member of the FBI Task Force was also notified and present at that scene working alongside our personnel. The FBI was promptly notified… coordination with the Bureau began without delay.”
Sheriff Chris Nanos was also defended for his leadership at the scene, noting that operational decisions were made in real time based on investigative needs.
Disagreement over forensic evidence handling
Patel criticized the decision to send DNA evidence to a private laboratory in Florida rather than to the FBI’s facility in Quantico, Virginia: “We have Quantico, best lab in the world… I had an aircraft ready to move it immediately through the night.”
However, the sheriff’s office maintained that both labs have collaborated closely: “The laboratory utilized… and the FBI Laboratory in Quantico have worked in close partnership from the outset.”
FBI role in securing suspect footage
Patel also highlighted the FBI’s involvement in obtaining key visual evidence. According to him, the Bureau worked with Google to retrieve cached footage showing a suspect tampering with a camera at Guthrie’s front door: “That’s why you have that image, because the FBI worked with Google to put that image out.”
Ongoing investigation
Despite public disagreements, both federal and local authorities say they remain committed to a coordinated investigation. Officials stress that collaboration continues as forensic analysis and leads are pursued.
“We remain committed to a thorough, coordinated, and fact-based investigation,” the sheriff’s office said.
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