FBI's Patel Accuses Pima Sheriff of 4-Day Delay in Guthrie Case

FBI Director Kash Patel accused the Pima County Sheriff's Department of delaying federal involvement in the investigation of missing Tucson resident Nancy Guthrie, stating on Tuesday that the FBI was sidelined for four days after her disappearance.

Patel made the remarks during an interview on Sean Hannity's podcast, "Hang Out." He emphasized the critical nature of the first 48 hours in missing persons cases, noting that local authorities initially declined offers of assistance. "What we, the FBI, do is say, 'Hey, we're here to help. What do you need?'" Patel said. "And for four days, we were kept out of the investigation."

According to Patel, once allowed to participate, FBI agents retrieved footage from a Ring doorbell camera and collaborated with Google to recover cached images from Nancy Guthrie's security system, which had been disabled. The images showed a man wearing a ski mask, jacket, gloves and backpack outside her property. The FBI described the suspect as a male, about 5 feet 9 to 10 inches tall with an average build. Patel also said the agency offered to process DNA evidence recovered at the scene using its Quantico laboratory, which he called the best in the world....