OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
12:41 PM – Friday, February 13, 2026
Tension between local and federal law enforcement spilled into the public eye on Friday, as Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos now faces accusations of obstructing the FBI’s access to critical evidence in the high-profile abduction of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie.
As the search for the mother of NBC “Today” show anchor Savannah Guthrie entered its 13th day, a rift over forensic procedures has sparked concerns that inter-agency friction may be slowing the hunt for a masked kidnapper.
According to federal law enforcement sources, first cited by Reuters, Sheriff Nanos has reportedly refused to hand over key physical evidence — specifically a black latex glove and DNA samples recovered from the Guthrie home — to the FBI’s national crime laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.
While the FBI’s Evidence Response Team (ERT) physically recovered the black glove near the Guthrie home on Wednesday, standard protocol required them to turn the find over to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, the lead agency, sparking questions about why the FBI lost control of the very evidence they discovered.
Sources have since explained that even though the FBI’s ERT physically found and bagged the glove, they did so under a “Joint Support” agreement. In the eyes of the law, the FBI was essentially acting as a high-tech “extra set of hands” for the local sheriff. All items collected by federal agents were then signed over to the Pima County Evidence Custodian.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department (PCSD) has since opted to send the materials to a private laboratory in Florida instead.
Following the move, federal officials expressed immense frustration, arguing that this “risks further slowing a case that grows more urgent by the minute.”
Points of the dispute revolve around:
- Cost: Pima County has reportedly spent approximately $200,000 on private lab fees.
- Speed: Federal sources maintain that the FBI’s “technical capabilities and national databases” offer the fastest path to identifying the suspect.
- Jurisdiction: Since the abduction occurred in Pima County, Sheriff Nanos maintains primary jurisdiction. Under federal law, the FBI can only take the lead on physical evidence if formally invited to do so by local authorities.
In a Friday morning interview with Tucson NBC affiliate KVOA, Sheriff Nanos dismissed the claims of “blocking” as a misunderstanding of investigative efficiency.
“Actually, the FBI just wanted to send the one or two they found by the crime scene… I said, ‘No, why do that? Let’s just send them all to where all the DNA exist, all the profiles and the markers exist,’” Nanos stated.
The Sheriff further argued that keeping the evidence together at the Florida lab, which was already processing initial samples, was the most “logical” way to ensure markers and profiles were consistently compared.
Despite the procedural friction, the search for 84-year-old Guthrie remains, with no identified suspects or leads, according to the department.
However, on Tuesday, the FBI released “previously inaccessible” doorbell camera footage showing an armed individual in a ski mask and “Ozark Trail Hiker Pack” backpack tampering with the Guthrie residence’s security system.
Meanwhile, the case has drawn national attention, with even the White House confirming that President Trump is “closely monitoring” the situation. For the Guthrie family, the procedural bickering adds another layer of agony to an already desperate situation.
As of Friday afternoon, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department continues to lead the ground search in the Catalina Foothills, while FBI Evidence Response Teams remain on-site in a “support” capacity.
Additionally, authorities are currently vetting at least two ransom notes, including a recent demand for $6 million in Bitcoin sent to media outlets. Nonetheless, no “proof of life” has been established since Nancy vanished on January 31st, and many have questioned whether the ransom demands are even authentic at all.
The FBI has doubled its reward to $100,000 for information leading to Guthrie’s recovery or the arrest of those involved.
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