Kash Patel’s FBI has been accused of playing a “blame game” in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie instead of focusing on collaborating with local authorities to solve the case.
Authorities have failed to announce any major breakthroughs in the case more than six months after Today host Savannah Guthrie’s 84-year-old mother was abducted from her Arizona home in the early morning hours of Feb. 1.
During a press conference at the Department of Justice Wednesday, Patel was asked whether there were any updates in the case, but he walked off the stage without even acknowledging the question, Status reported.
The administration’s failure to provide any meaningful information coincides with private frustrations that the FBI and local authorities in Pima County, Arizona, have failed to collaborate to find Guthrie’s captor, sources told the outlet.
“Instead of advancing the case, Pima County and the FBI are playing the blame game,” a source close to the case told Status after Wednesday’s press conference. “That is unacceptable when a kidnapper remains at large.”
Surveillance video from the scene shows a masked man with a backpack apparently entering Nancy Guthrie’s home the night she disappeared, but no suspects have been identified.
Patel and Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos have clashed over the case, with the FBI director repeatedly blaming local law enforcement for sidelining federal agents.
In May, the former MAGA podcaster told Fox News host Sean Hannity that his agents were kept out of the investigation for the first four days after Guthrie’s disappearance, a claim he repeated a month later in an interview with NewsNation.
Nanos has given multiple interviews saying that in fact, the bureau was “with us on day one.” He also released an official statement specifying that a member of the FBI Task Force was notified immediately and responded to the scene the night of the abduction.
“Director Patel has his rights to his opinions,” he told People magazine in May, but some of his remarks were “factually inaccurate.”
The source who spoke to Status apparently found Patel’s arguments unconvincing.
“The question on everyone’s mind is simple: Why hasn’t the FBI taken a more active role in the investigation?” the source said. “The reputation of law enforcement is at stake.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the FBI and Pima County Sheriff’s Department for comment.
On Friday, Nanos’ office released the details of two ransom notes that were sent to the Guthrie family after Nancy was taken, including one that said she had died a few days after her abduction.
“We did not fully grasp the seriousness of her physical condition. We never intended to hurt her, that was not our intention. She perished shortly after she was taken. We believe it was heart-related. She is buried in nature now,” it said.
During a press gaggle on Sunday, a reporter asked President Donald Trump if it was “time for the FBI to get involved” in the six-month-old case.
“Well, they are involved to an extent, but as you know, the local community really runs those things,” Trump replied.
“Some people haven’t liked the way the local community’s run it,” he said. “They haven’t liked the way the sheriff’s run it. But we would like to give them the benefit... but we’re there anytime they need us. It’s a terrible thing.”
