An Arizona sheriff who has been at the forefront of the search for NBC journalist Savannah Guthrie’s mother strongly disputed FBI Director Kash Patel’s claims of being “kept out” of the investigation.
Patel, appearing on Tuesday’s episode of the “Hang Out with Sean Hannity” podcast, accused Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos and his associates of waiting too long to engage the FBI in the Feb. 1 disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, 84.
“The first 48 hours of anyone’s disappearance are most critical,” he said. “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 also criticized the sheriff’s department for its handling of DNA evidence and took credit for the discovery of surveillance video showing a masked individual carrying what appears to be a gun on the front steps of Nancy Guthrie’s home on the night of her alleged abduction. That footage, which was released publicly Feb. 10, remains the case’s most significant lead.
“We could have gotten it days before. We could have also maybe gotten more data,” Patel said of the clip. As for Nanos’ use of a Florida-based lab for DNA analysis, he added, “We would have analyzed it within days and maybe gotten better information or more information. Our lab’s just better than any other private lab out there, and we didn’t get a chance to do that.”
