Trump Torches Sheriff In Nancy Guthrie Investigation For Disclosing FBI Tech

President Donald Trump criticized Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, who has played a lead role in the investigation in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, for sharing information on the FBI’s investigation and use of technology.

The case, which began on February 1, 2026, when Nancy Guthrie went missing from her home in the Catalina Foothills area near Tucson, Arizona, has involved local law enforcement, the FBI, and has generated significant public attention. President Trump has repeatedly commented on the case and stated that all federal resources are available for the ongoing search.

While speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One on Thursday, the president criticized Nanos’ handling of the investigation for the first time.
“I didn’t like when they talked about going after the pacemaker before they even started going after it,” he said.

“If in fact they could do it that way, the person would say, ‘Well, I’m not going to let that happen’… I can’t imagine why they would have done that, just in terms of strategy,” the president added.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos speaks during a press conference on February 5

Trump’s reprimand was made in response to a recent press update in which Nanos’ office revealed that authorities were utilizing a helicopter equipped with an FBI Bluetooth “sniffer” device to detect signals from Nancy Guthrie’s pacemaker. This tool was intended to help locate her by picking up the device’s emissions, as pacemakers can emit identifiable signals.

The update was given before the technology was fully implemented in connection with the search, meaning that the abductors could have been tipped off.

Trump expressed concern that announcing this method publicly could alert any potential perpetrator, allowing them to take countermeasures, such as removing or disabling the pacemaker, which could compromise the investigation’s effectiveness.

The president’s comments come as Nanos has reportedly clashed with federal investigators at multiple points during the nearly month-long investigation.

Allegations against Sheriff Nanos include claims that he took control of the investigation and denied resources to federal authorities. Sources within law enforcement have reported that Nanos insisted on processing key evidence, such as a glove and DNA samples from Guthrie’s home, at a private lab in Florida rather than the FBI’s national crime laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.

This decision reportedly required the FBI to potentially re-test the evidence, leading to delays. Critics have described the situation as an “ego trip” for Nanos, suggesting his reluctance to fully hand over aspects of the case stemmed from a desire to maintain leadership, despite the FBI’s greater resources for complex analyses.

Nanos has denied these allegations, stating that his department aimed to submit all evidence to a single lab for consistency and that he has been cooperating with the FBI, including holding joint meetings where agents emphasized avoiding media-driven divisions.

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