Nancy Grace Slams Law Enforcement in Nancy Guthrie Abduction Case

Crime Stories host Nancy Grace has called out local law enforcement in the Nancy Guthrie abduction case after reports emerged that the Pima County sheriff blocked the FBI from testing key evidence.

The divisive legal commentator appeared on Fox News’ Hannity on Thursday night (February 12), where she said Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos is “risking” the case by his actions. This followed multiple reports that Nanos insisted on sending physical evidence to a private lab in Florida rather than to the FBI’s laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.

“There are cases where DNA is sent to a particular lab, a specialty lab, a lab that could have expertise in diluted, destroyed, old, degenerated DNA,” Grace said, per The Wrap. “But even if that’s why he’s hanging his hat on an excuse to send it to a private lab in Florida, they don’t have anything that the FBI doesn’t have, so that’s not going to wash.”

Nanos has faced accusations of impeding the FBI’s ability to help in the search for Nancy, the 84-year-old mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie. Nancy has been missing since January 31, when police believe she was abducted or kidnapped from her home in Tucson, Arizona.

Nancy Grace warns sending crucial DNA to a private lab could risk destroying limited evidence, questioning why it’s not being handled by the FBI:

“There are cases where DNA is sent to a particular lab, a specialty lab, a lab that could have expertise in diluted, destroyed, old,… pic.twitter.com/Pa0bxwyfBX

— Sean Hannity 🇺🇸 (@seanhannity) February 13, 2026

Sheriff Nanos fired back at criticism, insisting there was no conflift with his federal counterparts. “Not even close to the truth,” he told NBC Tucson affiliate KVOA.

Earlier this week, investigators released surveillance footage taken from Nancy’s doorbell camera. The video and images showed an armed individual wearing a ski mask, gloves, and a backpack, tampering with the doorbell camera. Authorities later found a discarded glove in desert shrubbery in Nancy’s suburb.

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“It hurts me to think this, but if there’s a small amount of DNA inside one of those gloves and it is sent to a lab for testing, that DNA could be used up in the testing,” Grace continued. “So what I’m saying is, if that lab in Florida uses up that touch DNA, it’s over. Does he not realize what he is risking? He needs to go back to his basketball game.”

Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly also slammed law enforcement on X, writing, “All of this infighting among LE in the Nancy Guthrie case does not exactly telegraph: we’re on the verge of solving it.”

CNN commentator Xochitl Hinojosa added, “This is insane. The FBI should always be lead when there is an abduction. That’s what’s best for the investigation.”