Keystone Kash Reignites Battle Over Nancy Guthrie Case

Kash Patel is pointing the finger at local police for fumbling the investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance after being quizzed about the case in a new interview.

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The FBI director raised complaints about local authorities sidelining federal agents during the crucial first days of the search for the missing mother of Today show anchor Savannah Guthrie, costing investigators valuable time.

“We showed up immediately and offered our assistance. We were not let in for four days. And that’s their choice,” Patel said.

“I even visited our Tucson office where we had 150 agents and analysts working on the Nancy Guthrie case to provide intelligence.”

Patel made similar allegations during an appearance on Sean Hannity’s podcast in May, where he claimed the FBI had been “kept out of the investigation” during the critical first 48 hours after Guthrie disappeared.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos quickly pushed back, saying the FBI had been notified immediately and that a member of the bureau’s task force was working alongside local investigators on the night Guthrie vanished.

“The FBI was promptly notified by both our department and the Guthrie family,” Nanos said in a statement at the time.

“While the FBI Director was not on scene, coordination with the Bureau began without delay.”

Patel’s comments are a striking public rebuke of the agencies leading the investigation into the disappearance of the 84-year-old, who authorities believe was abducted from her home near Tucson on Feb. 1.

Despite months of investigation, no suspect has been identified and Guthrie remains missing.

Patel stressed that the case was initially treated as a state and local matter rather than a federal investigation, limiting the FBI’s authority to intervene.

“State and locals are in charge of those investigations—we don’t take ownership of them,” he said.

Still, Patel suggested that local investigators passed up opportunities to leverage the FBI’s resources and expertise.

Chief among his complaints was the handling of DNA evidence.

“We offered our assistance to go test the DNA, and it’s up to them, they chose to use a private laboratory,” he said.

When it came to processing evidence, decisions “were made on scene based on operational needs,” the sheriff’s office said at the time, per ABC News.

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“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,” the sheriff’s office statement said.

“We remain committed to a thorough, coordinated, and fact-based investigation and will continue working closely with our federal partners as the process moves forward.”

The sheriff’s office said in a Feb. 18 post on X that DNA from gloves found near the scene “did not trigger a match” in the FBI’s national DNA database.

Patel also highlighted the bureau’s work examining a Ring doorbell camera from Guthrie’s home where FBI agents partnered with Google to analyze metadata from the device despite there being no paid subscription service attached to the account.

“What the FBI is great at,” Patel said, “is finding a needle in a needle in a needle in a haystack.”

Patel repeatedly emphasized that the first days after a disappearance are often critical to solving a case.

“It’s like a child abduction case or missing persons case. You need the first 48 hours to hit the ground hard,” he said.

His comments are likely to fuel further scrutiny of the investigation, which has faced questions as months pass without an arrest or major public breakthrough.

The disappearance has drawn national attention because of Guthrie’s connection to NBC Today anchor Savannah Guthrie.

Authorities have previously said they believe she was abducted from her home in the early morning hours of Feb. 1 and have pursued numerous leads, including ransom communications sent after her disappearance.

Retired detective Jon Buehler told NewsNation that the answer to the mystery may still be buried among the thousands of tips investigators have received or in the hands of someone too afraid to come forward.

“We had a random murder that went 11 years unsolved, and it was only because the one person that could give us the information was afraid to come forward, and it took 11 years for them to get over that fear,” Buehler said.

Patel said the FBI remains ready to assist local authorities as the investigation continues.

“We’ve continued to offer assistance,” he said. “And we will show up for any investigative examinations that they wish our assistance on.”

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