Pima County Sheriff Rejects Kash Patel’s Claims, Says FBI Was Not Sidelined in Nancy Guthrie Probe

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has responded to Kash Patel’s comments about the Federal Bureau of Investigation initially being left out of the investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance.

As the probe entered its fourth month, FBI Director Patel stated that the Pima County Sheriff’s Department sidelined his agency for four days after Guthrie went missing. Nanos has now refuted those claims in an official statement.

Shortly after Patel made the claims on Sean Hannity’s podcast Hang Out on May 5, Nanos released a statement through the PCSD’s social media account. The sheriff stated that, contrary to Patel’s accusations, an FBI task force member was alerted about Guthrie’s disappearance at the time of the incident.

Nanos added that the member was present at the crime scene along with his department’s detectives. “Sheriff Nanos responded to the scene the night of the incident, providing immediate local leadership and oversight. A member of the FBI Task Force was also notified and present at that scene working alongside our personnel,” the statement read.

The sheriff further said his department promptly contacted the FBI and coordinated with the agency from the very beginning. “The FBI was promptly notified by both our department and the Guthrie family. While the FBI Director was not on scene, coordination with the Bureau began without delay,” he said.

Nanos also addressed criticism surrounding his decision to examine DNA evidence collected from Guthrie’s home at a private Florida lab. After the tests did not lead to the suspect, the FBI decided to re-examine the sample at an official lab in Quantico, Virginia.

“Decisions regarding evidence processing were made on scene based on operational needs. The laboratory utilized by the Pima County Sheriff's Department and the FBI Laboratory in Quantico have worked in close partnership from the outset and continue to collaborate in the analysis of evidence,” Nanos remarked.

The sheriff concluded by writing that his department will continue to coordinate and work closely with the FBI in their endeavor to find Guthrie and arrest her alleged kidnappers.

During his podcast, Hannity asked Patel whether the PCSD had tried to keep the FBI out of the search for Guthrie. To this, the director replied, “They did. The first 48 hours of anyone’s disappearance are the most critical. 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.”

Asked why the DNA sample was initially tested at a private lab, Patel responded, “It’s a state and local matter, so it’s their call on where to send the DNA. We have Quantico, best lab in the world... And they said, ‘We’re sending it to Florida.’ They have jurisdiction, so it’s their call.”

Nanos and his department have faced widespread criticism for their handling of the case, as Guthrie has been missing for more than three months, and the suspect remains at large. The sheriff previously acknowledged that mistakes were made early in the investigation, but later defended his department.