President Trump has weighed in on the six-month-old disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie, following a Wall Street Journal report raising fresh questions about the early handling of the case by local investigators.
Nancy Guthrie was reported missing from her Tucson, Arizona-area home on 1 February, investigators believe she was taken from her bed overnight, and no suspects have been publicly identified.
Asked by a reporter Sunday whether it was “time for the FBI to get involved”.
Trump responded: “Well, they are involved to an extent, but as you know, the local community really runs those things. Some people haven’t liked the way the local community’s run it. 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.”
His comments follow an ongoing dispute between FBI Director Kash Patel and Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, with Patel alleging local officials kept the FBI out during the case’s earliest days, a claim Nanos disputes.
Nanos addressed the criticism directly on Sunday, describing the investigation as “very active” and noting authorities have received “tens of thousands of tips.”
He characterised his working relationship with the FBI as “good,” pointing to years of collaboration through the Southern Arizona Violent Crime Task Force, and offered reassurance to the Guthrie family: “We’re still here. We are not going away.”
He has also pushed back on Patel directly, saying inaccurate information shared about the case “hurts the case.”
Savannah Guthrie shared an emotional tribute to her mother on social media Saturday, marking six months since her disappearance.
“Six months ago, someone took her out of her bed in the dead of night. We have lived every moment, every breath since.”
Authorities have offered a $1.2 million reward for information leading to Nancy Guthrie’s safe return.
