Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos is firing back at Kash Patel after the FBI director criticised his department’s handling of the Nancy Guthrie case.

“Sheriff Nanos responded to the scene the night of the incident, providing immediate local leadership and oversight,” a statement from Pima County Sheriff’s Department reads. “A member of the FBI Task Force was also notified and present at that scene working alongside our personnel. The FBI was promptly notified by both our department and the Guthrie family. While the FBI Director was not on scene, coordination with the Bureau began without delay.”

In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Patel claims that the bureau was “kept out” of the investigation during the critical first 48 hours after Guthrie went missing.

“The first 48 hours of anyone’s disappearance are the most critical,” Patel said. “For four days, we were kept out of the investigation. And when we were finally let in, Sean, look what we did. We went in and got the Ring doorbell. And we said, ‘Hey, is anyone talking to Google?’ I called the leadership at Google… ‘Can we go into the data before it’s deleted and see what we can find?’ That’s why you have that image, because the FBI worked with Google to put that image out.”

Guthrie,84, who was taken from her home in Tucson, Ariz., in the early morning hours of Feb. 1, has not been located since. No suspects have been identified in her abduction case.

In its statement, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department defended its handling of evidence in the case.

“Decisions regarding evidence processing were made on scene based on operational needs. The laboratory utilized by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI Laboratory in Quantico have worked in close partnership from the outset and continue to collaborate in the analysis of evidence,” the statement reads. “We remain committed to a thorough, coordinated, and fact-based investigation and will continue working closely with our federal partners as the process moves forward.”