FBI Director Kash Patel and Arizona sheriff Chris Nanos publicly clashed this weekover how the search for missing 84 year oldNancy Guthriehas been handled in Tucson, with Patel claiming on Tuesday that the FBI was initially kept out of the investigation and the sheriff insisting his department brought federal agents in without delay.
Guthrie, the mother of Today co anchorSavannah Guthrie, has been missing since 31 January, when relatives last saw her at the Tucson home of her older daughter, Annie. She was reported missing around midday on 1 February after failing to arrive at a friend's house to watch an online church service. More than three months later, there is still no confirmation that Nancy Guthrie has been found, no suspect has been named and no clear motive has emerged, leaving every new disagreement between agencies to land on already frayed nerves.
The latest row over whether Nancy Guthrie has been found was sparked by Patel's appearance on theHang Out With Sean Hannitypodcast on Tuesday.
Patel said the FBI was kept at arm's length during the most critical early stage of the case.
'The first 48 hours of anyone's disappearance is critical,' he told Hannity. 'It's a state and local law enforcement matter. What we, the FBI, do is say, "Hey, we're here to help. What do you need? What can we do?" And for four days, we were kept out of the investigation.'
Patel argued that once the Bureau became fully involved, it moved quickly to secure and examine digital evidence, including Ring doorbell footage from Nancy Guthrie's home that showed a masked, armed individual outside the property on the morning she disappeared.
He said he personally contacted senior figures at Google to ask whether video data could be recovered, even though there was no subscription service in place to store it long term. He also said the FBI had offered to send DNA evidence to its laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.
'We would have analysed it within days and maybe gotten better information or more information,' Patel said, adding that, in his view, the FBI laboratory was superior to private facilities. 'We didn't get a chance to do that. So I understand everybody's frustrations on that.'
His comments suggested that local hesitation in fully using federal resources may have cost investigators time. Even so, there is no independent evidence showing that any delay definitively changed the outcome or caused a specific lead to be lost.
The Pima County Sheriff's Department responded quickly and forcefully, rejecting Patel's suggestion that federal agents had been shut out.
Source: International Business Times UK
