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A scathing critique from the highest level of federal law enforcement has ignited a firestorm

over the investigation into the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie.

FBI director Cash Patel is publicly calling out the Pima County Sheriff's Department,

alleging that local authorities essentially handcuffed the Bureau during the critical first hours after the elderly woman vanished.

Nancy Guthrie, the mother of NBC Today Show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie,

was last seen on January 31st at her daughter Annie's home in Tucson. She was reported missing the following day, February 1st,

after failing to show up for an online church service. What followed, according to Director Patel,

was a period of bureaucratic stalling that may have cost investigators precious time.

Appearing on The Hangout with Sean Hannity podcast, Director Patel did not mince words about the

friction between the FBI and local police. It is a state matter. It's a state and local law

enforcement matter. What we the FBI do is say, hey, we're here to help. What do you need?

What can we do? And for four days, we were here to help. What do you need? What can we do?

And for four days, we were kept out of the investigation. The director claims that the breakthrough in the case, an image of an armed, masked man outside Nancy Guthrie's home,

only happened because the FBI finally bypassed local hurdles to work directly with tech

giants. Patel explains that the ring doorbell at the residents

did not have an active subscription to save footage,

meaning the data was at risk of being lost forever.

...