FBI and Pima County Sheriff's Office Give Conflicting Accounts of Nancy Guthrie Investigation Timeline

FBI Director Kash Patel claimed the bureau was kept out of the Nancy Guthrie investigation for the first four days after the February 1, 2026 disappearance of the mother of "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie. "For four days we were kept out of the investigation," Patel said on Sean Hannity's podcast. " Authorities in Pima County believe Nancy Guthrie was taken from her Tucson, Arizona home.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos responded to the scene the night of the incident. A member of the FBI Task Force was notified and present at the scene working alongside Pima County personnel. The Pima County Sheriff's Office stated the FBI was promptly notified by both the department and the Guthrie family.

The office said there was no delay in coordination with the FBI. Decisions about processing evidence were made on scene based on operational needs. Patel was critical of the decision by Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos to send DNA samples to a private lab in Florida instead of the FBI forensic lab in Quantico, Virginia.

"We have Quantico, best lab in the world," Patel said. He added that he had an aircraft ready to move DNA evidence immediately through the night. The FBI received a hair sample tied to the Guthrie case that was collected in February 2026.

The FBI requested the hair sample material over two months ago, an FBI official said. The Pima County Sheriff's Office sent the hair sample to a private lab in Florida. Eleven weeks after being sent to the private lab, the original hair sample was transferred to the FBI Laboratory.

The Pima County Sheriff's Office 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 said. The office added it remains committed to a thorough, coordinated and fact-based investigation.

In the same podcast interview, Patel took credit for obtaining the first images of the suspect captured tampering with the camera at Nancy Guthrie's front door on the morning of her disappearance.

Patel called Google leadership to request access to cached data before it was deleted. "That's why you have that image, because the FBI worked with Google to put that image out," he said. An aerial view of Nancy Guthrie's home was captured on March 6, 2026 in Tucson, Arizona.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel spoke at a news conference on April 27, 2026 at the Department of Justice in Washington. Patel said he understood everybody's frustrations with the case. @ABC reported the conflicting accounts between federal and local authorities over the early days of the investigation into the disappearance that has now stretched more than three months.