Nancy Guthrie case sparks clash as FBI Director Kash Patel rips sheriff
Pima County Sheriff's Department pushes back, saying a member of the FBI Task Force was present at the scene
By Louis Casiano Fox News
Published May 5, 2026 8:20pm EDT
FBI Director Kash Patel criticized local authorities for their handling of the Nancy Guthrie missing persons investigation, stating that his agency was initially kept "out of the loop."
Patel voiced his criticism during an appearance on the "Hang Out with Sean Hannity" podcast that aired Tuesday. He said the FBI was sidelined by the Pima County Sheriff's Department for four days as time was of the essence in the first days of Guthrie's disappearance.
"What we, the FBI, do is say, ‘Hey, we're here to help. What do you need?’" Patel told Hannity. "What can we do? And for four days, we were kept out of the investigation."
Additionally, instead of having DNA evidence taken to an FBI lab in Quantico, Va., for testing, Nanos instead elected to have the samples shipped to a private lab in Florida.
"The first 48 hours of anyone's disappearance are the most critical," Patel said, noting that while local authorities had jurisdiction, the delay was costly. "We would have analyzed it within days and maybe gotten better information — more information."
"Our lab is just better than any other private lab out there, and we didn't get a chance to do that," he added.
In response, the Pima County Sheriff's Department said that decisions regarding evidence processing were made on-scene based on operational needs.
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