The Pima County Sheriff's Department addressed comments made by FBI Director Kash Patel in a statement posted to social media Tuesday, regarding the investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
The statement said Sheriff Chris Nanos responded to the scene of Guthrie’s disappearance “the night of the incident, providing immediate local leadership and oversight.”
Authorities believe Guthrie was taken overnight from her Catalina Foothills home. She was reported missing to the sheriff’s department around noon Feb. 1. The statement also said a member of the FBI Task Force was notified and present at the scene, working alongside deputies.
“While the FBI Director was not on scene, coordination with the Bureau began without delay,” the sheriff’s department said.
Nanos’ statement appeared to contradict comments FBI Director Kash Patel made during an appearance on "Hang Out with Sean Hannity" show. The interview was [posted Tuesday to Fox News’ YouTube account.](
Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Savannah Guthrie, was reported missing from her Catalina Foothills home on Feb. 1. Law enforcement has not publicly identified a suspect.
However, authorities released still images Feb. 10 showing a masked, armed man.
In the interview, Patel said the first 48 hours of a disappearance investigation are the most critical. “It’s a state and local law enforcement matter,” Patel said. “What we, the FBI, do is say, ‘Hey, we’re here to help. What do you need?’”
Patel said the FBI was kept out of the Guthrie investigation for four days by state and local authorities. Patel said the delay may have limited the amount of data the bureau could initially secure.
“I called leadership at Google,” Patel said, adding that Guthrie did not have a subscription service connected to her Ring device.
Patel said he asked Google leadership to retrieve cached data from the Ring doorbell system that ultimately led investigators to obtain the suspect image.
The FBI director also said he deployed “hundreds of agents and intel staff” to Phoenix and Tucson to stand by for the case. Patel said that while it was ultimately Nanos’ decision where to send DNA evidence for testing, the FBI had a fixed-wing aircraft ready to transport evidence to the bureau’s lab in Quantico, Virginia.
The sheriff’s department remains the lead agency investigating Guthrie’s disappearance. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pima Regional Critical Incident Team, known as PCRIT, have assisted in the investigation since early February.
A Feb. 12 report by Reuters described tensions between investigative agencies involved in the case and reported allegations that Nanos blocked FBI access to key evidence.
According to Reuters, the FBI requested physical evidence — including a glove and DNA collected from Guthrie’s home — be processed at the bureau’s Quantico lab. Reuters reported that Nanos instead opted to use a private laboratory in Florida, citing an unidentified official familiar with the matter.
Statement from Sheriff Chris Nanos: pic.twitter.com/slujYQbncO
— Pima County Sheriff's Department (@PimaSheriff) May 5, 2026
In a Feb. 13 email to AZPM, the sheriff’s department said it would continue working with the FBI on the investigation.
The department said evidence requiring forensic analysis was being sent to the same out-of-state laboratory used since the beginning of the case and described the decision as one discussed with and agreed upon by local FBI leadership.
In Tuesday’s statement, the sheriff’s department said the Florida lab and the FBI’s Quantico facility “have worked in close partnership from the outset and continue to collaborate in the analysis of evidence.”
During the interview, Hannity criticized the decision to send evidence to the Florida lab.
“Bad call,” Hannity said.
“That’s for the American public to decide,” Patel responded.
The sheriff’s department said it remains committed to a “thorough, coordinated and fact-based investigation” and will continue working with federal partners.
Tuesday’s statement came just after the three-month anniversary of Guthrie’s disappearance.
