FBI Director Kash Patel said the Pima County Sheriff’s Department mishandled the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping, but Sheriff Chris Nanos pushed back against claims that the agency tried to “shut down” the FBI.
Three months after the search for Savannah Guthrie’s mother, Nancy Guthrie, FBI Director Kash Patel criticized Arizona law enforcement’s response to the alleged kidnapping of the 84-year-old.
On the May 5 episode of Sean Hannity’s podcast, “Hang Out with Sean Hannity,” Patel agreed with the Fox News personality’s claim that the Pima County Sheriff’s Department “tried to shut[the FBI]out” during the early days of the case that unfolded after Nancy Guthrie was reported missing from her Arizona home on February 1.
“The first 48 hours after a disappearance are the most critical,” Patel said. “For four days, we were kept away from the investigation. And when we were finally allowed to investigate, Sean, look what we did.”
Patel noted that on February 10, the FBI released footage of Nancy Guthrie’s previously “inaccessible” doorbell that showed an “armed” person tampering with the device. Based on the images, authorities described the suspect in the case as a “male, approximately 5 feet 9 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall, with an average build.”
“That’s why you have that image. Because the FBI worked with Google to release that image,” Patel told Hannity, claiming he had called Google’s leadership team himself.
The FBI also offered to send DNA evidence collected by the sheriff’s office to an FBI laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, Patel claimed. But the sheriff’s department sent the evidence to a private lab in Florida.
“It’s their order because they have jurisdiction,” Patel said.
Pima County Sheriff pushes back against Kash Patel’s claims to eliminate FBI
In a statement provided to USA TODAY on May 5, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that “Sheriff Chris Nanos is aware of FBI Director Kash Patel’s recent interviews and statements.”
“Sheriff Nanos responded to the scene the night of the incident and provided immediate guidance and supervision on the scene. Members of the FBI task force also attended the scene after receiving the tip and were cooperating with our personnel,” the statement continued. “The FBI was immediately notified by both the department and the Guthrie family. Although the FBI director was not on scene, coordination with the bureau began without delay.”
The statement added: “Decisions regarding evidence processing were made on-site based on operational needs. The laboratories utilized by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI laboratory at Quantico have worked closely from the beginning and continue to collaborate in the analysis of evidence.”
In closing, the Pima County Sheriff’s Office said it “remains committed to a thorough, methodical, fact-based investigation and will continue to work closely with our federal partners as the process progresses.”
The investigation into Guthrie’s kidnapping has yielded a variety of DNA evidence, from dried blood droplets on Nancy Guthrie’s front door tiles to multiple gloves, but so far no additional information has been obtained. Gloves found near Nancy Guthrie’s home were similar to those worn by the suspect and were at one point thought to be a potential lead in the investigation, but the case ultimately came to nothing.
Law enforcement previously confirmed that DNA not belonging to her or her inner circle was found in Nancy Guthrie’s home. They do not provide updates on their analysis.
Nancy Guthrie has been missing since January 31st. The Pima County Sheriff’s Office said they believe she was taken against her will from her home outside Tucson, Arizona. More than $1.2 million in rewards are being offered for information leading to her recovery.
The Pima County Sheriff previously said claims that he “stopped” the FBI are “far from the truth”
Nanos previously claimed that his office was cooperating with federal law enforcement in the Nancy Guthrie case. Two weeks after the investigation began, he refuted speculation that his office had blocked access to “key evidence,” Reuters reported on February 12.
“The FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department have a close relationship,” Nanos told NBC News on February 13. “Sometimes decisions are made after a lot of discussion about why things need to go one way or the other. … Those aren’t really my decisions. They’re our team’s decisions.”
“That couldn’t be further from the truth in this case where they withheld evidence from the FBI,” he added. “We processed the crime scene that morning and collected all the evidence. Within days…we contacted the FBI. (And) we said, ‘Hey, now that we have digital analysis, you guys are really going to help.'”
Nanos continued, “They said, ‘Sure, whatever you want.’ We gave it to them. We sent the rest of the evidence to the lab, which is the lab we’ve been using for 30, 40 years.”
But in a Feb. 5 press conference, Nanos acknowledged that in hindsight he would have made different decisions, such as keeping Nancy Guthrie’s home locked down longer to search for further clues.
“We probably could have refrained from doing that,” he said of returning the home to Guthrie’s family. “We got what we thought was perfect. My team did it. I have to have full faith in their ability and skill, and I think they did a good job of it.”
In an April 16 statement, the Sheriff’s Office told USA TODAY it had been sharing information with the FBI lab “all along.”
Patel has been drinking heavily in recent weeks and has come under fire following a report in The Atlantic that said his behavior could jeopardize national security. Patel, who sued the magazine, has denied being “intoxicated on the job,” and the White House said President Donald Trump still has “confidence” in the FBI director.
Law enforcement is asking anyone with information about Nancy Guthrie to contact them at 1-800-CALL-FBI or the Pima County Sheriff’s Office tips.fbi.gov. (520-351-4900) or 88-CRIME.
