FBI director Kash Patel addressed why it took so long to release footage of a potential subject in the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie’s mom, Nancy Guthrie.
“It was great to be on the ground in Arizona with our FBI teams leading the charge with the local law enforcement there,” Patel told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Tuesday, February 10. “Things like this happen when you have great partnerships with the private sector. Because President [Donald] Trump delivered these great partnerships with these private sector companies, we were able to execute lawful searches and go to these private sector companies and expedite results.”
Patel explained how the images and photos were obtained of a masked individual outside of Nancy’s home.
“[We went] into their systems and actually excavated material that people would think would normally be deleted and no one would look for,” he continued. “And basically — without getting into too many of the details — that’s how the FBI worked with our private sector partners to pull out the material that people thought didn’t even exist because of the specific type of subscription service on the ring doorbell. But thanks to this brilliant partnership, we were able to get it out, sharpen it with our technical capabilities at the FBI and put it out for the world.”
With an “investigation of this magnitude,” Patel stressed the importance of the “public’s assistance.” He highlighted how the FBI released the footage “nearly immediately” to allow for “any and all tips” that helped “expand the investigation.”
When Hannity asked about reports of FBI involvement being “delayed,” Patel replied, “In a kidnapping case or a missing person’s case, it’s always a state and local law enforcement matter.”
According to Patel, “We had always offered our assistance from the beginning — taking our cues from local law enforcement. We’ve tried and we’ve been there and offered all the resources. We’ve shared assets and I’ve put personnel and practical units there in Arizona to make sure local law enforcement has what they need.”
He continued: “But at the end of the day, the FBI is the only one who has the capabilities — and the technical discipline — to go in there and assist local law enforcement to get this type of information. Not only were we able to get this type of information, but we were able to exploit information pursuant to our private sector partner engagements that showed us that there might be persons of interest in and around the area related to this event.”
Nancy, 84, was reported missing in Arizona on February 1. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has continued to offer updates on the case after revealing Nancy’s disappearance was being investigated as a crime.
Amid reports that ransom letters were received, one of which allegedly demanded $6 million in Bitcoin, the FBI released footage on Tuesday of a person in a mask outside of Nancy’s home who appeared to have a gun.
“We’re protecting the integrity of the investigation but we’re also being very public because there’s a very public facing case,” Patel continued on Tuesday. “All resources have been dedicated to this investigation, they’re gonna continue on the ground and get everything and absolutely anything they need from the FBI.”
After the images were released, the Pima County Police Department confirmed a subject was detained during a traffic stop and being questioned in connection to the investigation. The man, who identified himself as Carlos, was later released and denied having any involvement in Nancy’s disappearance.
According to Patel, there are “persons of interest” who are being looked at as the investigation continues.
“But as you know with any investigation, you are a person of interest until you’re either eliminated or you’re actually found to be the culprit,” he said on Tuesday. “I can generally say that we are going to interview and interrogate absolutely every single person that we think is involved with this or has information related to this.”
He concluded: “We’re going to use all of our capabilities without divulging them to advance this investigation. That’s what you saw play out here. In these last 36 hours, the FBI showed up to work with their partners in [the] private sector and exploit unexcavated data that people thought were missing and deleted.”
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