President Donald Trump on Friday commented on why the FBI has not taken over as the lead agency investigating the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie nearly two weeks since she vanished from her Tucson, Arizona, home.

Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of NBC host Savannah Guthrie, went missing from her home Feb. 1, and no suspects or persons of interest have been publicly named by authorities 13 days later.

While speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump explained why the Pima County Sheriff’s Department remains the lead on the investigation. 

“They didn’t want to let go of it, which is fine. It’s up to them. It’s really up to the communities,” Trump told reporters outside the White House Friday afternoon. “But ultimately, when the FBI got involved, I think, you know, progress has been made.”

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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had said earlier that FBI Director Kash Patel assured her that the bureau was on the ground in Arizona and is offering local authorities the “full resources” of the federal government.

The president’s comments came after a U.S. law enforcement source told Fox News Digital on Thursday that Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos is blocking the FBI from key evidence.

During an interview Friday with Fox News’ Matt Finn, Nanos defended his department’s partnership with the FBI, saying his office did not find a glove at Guthrie’s property and a private Florida lab, which the sheriff’s department has been contracted with for decades, began receiving evidence at the start of the investigation and that the FBI agreed that evidence should continue to be sent there instead of the FBI’s national crime laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.

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Nanos added he called the FBI for assistance on the next working day after Guthrie’s disappearance and that it would be “absolutely crazy” to not take advantage of their partnership.

FBI Phoenix on Thursday said new “identifying details” about Guthrie’s potential abductor have been confirmed after a forensic analysis of the doorbell camera footage by the FBI’s Operational Technology Division. 

The suspect is described as a man, roughly 5 feet, 9 inches to 5 feet, 10 inches tall, with an average build.

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Officials also specified the brand of backpack the suspect was seen wearing in a video released Tuesday, confirming it was a black, 25-liter “Ozark Trail Hiker Pack” backpack.

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Trump was also asked Friday whether cartels or possibly another “nation state” could be involved in Guthrie’s disappearance.

“You can’t say that yet,” Trump said outside the White House, responding to a question from Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich. “It’s a little bit early.”

“But it’s somebody [who] either knew what they were doing very well, or they were rank amateurs. Either way, it’s not a good situation,” Trump added.

TUCSON, Ariz. — A high-profile forensic genealogy company slammed the Pima County Sheriff’s Department for sending critical evidence in the Nancy Guthrie case to a private lab in Florida instead of directly to the FBI.

“This is so devastating,” said Othram co-founder Kristen Mittelman. “DNA Labs International is a traditional forensic lab that consumes evidence to make an STR [short tandem repeat] profile, so I don’t understand why it didn’t go to Quantico, since they can do this better and faster than anyone, and they have a pipeline to flip it immediately to inferring identity with us.”

Othram is a Texas-based forensic genetic genealogy lab that was instrumental in helping authorities identify infamous murderer Bryan Kohberger, among other high-profile criminals.

According to a report by KOLD, DNA Labs International, located in Deerfield Beach, Florida, is where Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has sent key evidence to be examined. State records confirm that Arizona has a contract with the company for “biological laboratory services” that began in 2022 and runs through March.

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Mittelman stressed that time is “critical” in every case, especially Guthrie’s.

She also said that Othram worked the case of formerly unidentified murder victim Evelyn Colon after DNA Labs International couldn’t crack the case. Colon, previously known as Beth Doe, was murdered in New Jersey in 1976. She was identified in 2021.

A federal law enforcement source told Fox News Digital that the evidence will need to be retested by the FBI anyway.

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“It’s just the FBI developed this method and can do it so much better without destroying the evidence,” the source said. “I’ve seen so many cases go to Florida and be consumed. Also, they are not as fast, and in this case, time matters.”

On Thursday, a federal law enforcement source accused Nanos of blocking the FBI from obtaining the evidence, first reported by Reuters and confirmed by Fox News Digital.

“It risks further slowing a case that grows more urgent by the minute,” the official told Reuters, citing unspecified “earlier setbacks” in the investigation. The official also criticized Nanos for not requesting help from the FBI earlier in the case.

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Nanos denied those allegations, telling KOLD that the Pima County Sheriff’s Department simply wants all evidence to be examined at the same lab.

The sheriff reiterated that message in an interview with Fox News’ Matt Finn on Friday. He told Finn that investigators have been using the Florida lab from the start of the investigation and that Guthrie family DNA, as well as other DNA, had already been sent there. 

“Why split your evidence to two different labs that could create a conflict, but more importantly, it adds that additional step,” he said. “This lab has this piece, this lab has that piece. Now they’ve got to converge those two pieces to make an elimination or identification. No, just send it to one lab, let’s go. They’re both great labs. They both have great equipment and smart people.”

“We trust the FBI’s crime lab, we’ve used them before, but in this case we started with that lab,” he said. It’s just that simple.”

Nanos also denied the claim that his office delayed contacting the FBI for assistance in the case, saying he has no reason not to partner with the federal law enforcement agency, that it would be “absolutely crazy” not to do so, and that his department and the FBI are working well together. He said he called the FBI on Monday, Feb.2, the first business day after the investigation began. 

He also denied releasing the crime scene at Guthrie’s home too soon. 

Earlier this week, the FBI released doorbell camera footage of a suspect, recorded at Guthrie’s home shortly before authorities believe she was abducted or kidnapped.

The suspect is described as a male between 5-foot-9 and 5-foot-10, with an average build. He was wearing an Ozark Trail Hiker Pack.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Office did not return a comment request.

DNA Labs International declined to comment.

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Nancy Guthrie disappearance timeline: 
Jan. 31, 2026
• Between 9:30–9:45 p.m. – Family drops Nancy off at home
• 9:50 p.m. – Garage door closes (per authorities)
Feb. 1, 2026
• 1:47 a.m. – Doorbell camera disconnects
• 2:12 a.m. – Security camera detects motion
• 2:28 a.m. – Pacemaker disconnects from phone application
• 11:56 a.m. – Family checks on Nancy after she misses weekly church livestream gathering
• 12:03 p.m. — 911 called
• 12:15 p.m. — Sheriff’s deputies arrive at home

This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

The Travis County Medical Examiner has determined Texas A&M student Brianna Aguilera died by suicide after falling from an Austin high-rise in November, a ruling that aligns with police findings but is being forcefully challenged by the teen’s family, whose attorney called the conclusion “flawed.”

Aguilera, 19, died after falling from a high-rise apartment after a Texas A&M vs. University of Texas football tailgate at about 1 a.m. Nov. 29, according to police.

“Austin Police (APD) is aware that the Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office has concluded its final autopsy report regarding the death of Brianna Aguilera and ruled it a suicide,” authorities wrote in a statement to affiliate FOX 7 Austin. “The investigation remains open, and until it is closed, Austin Police will not be providing any additional information.”

Attorneys representing Aguilera’s family previously claimed she was killed despite the discovery of an alleged suicide note and suicidal texts to her friends on the night of her death.

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After the release of the medical examiner’s findings, Tony Buzbee, the attorney for Aguilera’s family, issued a statement criticizing the investigation.

“Since Brianna Aguilera tragically lost her life, there has been an overwhelming amount of love and support for Brianna and her family. There has also been an overwhelming amount of criticism concerning the authorities for their handling of the investigation surrounding her death,” Buzbee wrote in the statement, obtained by FOX 7. 

“Specifically, the Austin Police Department, without a legitimate investigation, quickly concluded that Brianna’s death was a suicide. This effort was far from what’s expected of law enforcement.

“As an example, the Austin Police Department and those involved in the investigation failed to review phone records of Brianna and those immediately connected to her or those at the scene,” he continued. 

“They failed to interview all witnesses, failed to take statements under oath, failed to put together an accurate timeline, failed to secure video footage, and, most importantly, failed to follow through and interview witnesses, even the ones that we identified for them.”

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Buzbee described the medical examiner’s ruling as “expected,” alleging the finding was “made in large part based on the shoddy work of the Austin Police Department.”

“To be clear. The Austin Police Department’s ‘investigation’ fell woefully short,” he wrote. “Brianna deserved better. Her family deserves better.”

The Buzbee Law Firm filed a lawsuit Jan. 5 related to Aguilera’s death.

Attorneys said the legal action will allow the family to put witnesses under oath, subpoena records and compel cooperation of potential witnesses. 

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“We will do what the police and other authorities have failed to do,” Buzbee wrote. “We will perform a complete and thorough investigation and get the answers that Brianna and her family deserves. The medical examiner’s flawed conclusion changes nothing.”