Savannah Guthrie and mother
NBC's Savannah Guthrie and her mother Nancy, who was reported missing on Feb. 1

Slowly approaching the 100-day mark since Nancy Guthrie was allegedly kidnapped from her Tucson-area home, the mother of NBC's "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie remains missing and investigations ongoing.

As updates on Guthrie's disappearance remain scarce, FBI Director Kash Patel criticized local authorities during an appearance on the "Hang Out with Sean Hannity" podcast, which aired May 5.

Patel said the FBI was sidelined by the Pima County Sheriff's Department for four days at the start of the investigation.

"The first 48 hours of anyone's disappearance are the most critical," Patel said. "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 kept out of the investigation."

Guthrie vanished after a late-night encounter at her front door, with security footage reportedly showing a masked person approaching the home. The Guthrie family has offered a $1 million reward for information leading to her safe return.

As noted by Fox News, Patel said the FBI was prepared to act quickly but had to respect Pima County's decision to send DNA evidence from the scene to a private lab in Florida, a move he said delayed faster analysis.

"We would have analyzed it within days and maybe gotten better information or more information. Our lab's just better than any other private lab out there, and we didn't get a chance to do that," Patel said. "So I understand everybody's frustrations on that."

In a statement issued May 6, Sheriff Chris Nanos responded to Patel's comments, saying "decisions regarding evidence processing were made on-scene based on operational needs," and adding that he responded the night of the incident and that a member of the FBI task force was present and notified.

"The FBI was promptly notified by both our department and the Guthrie family," Nanos said. "While the FBI director was not on scene, coordination with the bureau began without delay."

During the podcast appearance, Patel said it was the FBI who recovered doorbell camera footage showing a masked suspect outside Guthrie's home.

"When we were finally let in, look what we did," Patel said. "We went in and got the Ring doorbell, and we said, 'Hey, is anyone talking to Google?' ... And we could have gotten it days before."

Nearly 100 days after her disappearance, authorities have pursued multiple leads, including contacting Mexican law enforcement over a possible cross-border kidnapping, but none have produced results. Guthrie was reported missing Feb. 1 after she failed to appear for a morning church service and could not be reached.

Originally published on Latin Times