Savannah Guthrie made her way back to NBC’s studios in New York on Thursday after more than a month off-air, but not in her usual capacity.
Instead of helping “Today” viewers begin their day, the longtime morning news anchor paid an off-camera visit to her NBC family amid her 84-year-old mother Nancy Guthrie’s abduction in Arizona. A spokesperson for NBC said in a statement that “Today” show staple Guthrie spent a moment at NBC’s studios to thank her colleagues.
“While she plans to return to the show on air, she remains focused right now supporting her family and working to help bring Nancy home,” the statement added.
“Today” co-hosts Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones spoke about their reunion with Guthrie during the show’s fourth hour Thursday, with the former noting that “Savannah has come back to her home.”
“She said that she has the intention to return to the show even though it feels the hardest thing to do,” Bush Hager told viewers as she teared up. “It’s also her home and where she feels so loved. She is beyond loved here.”
Bush Hager spoke about how it “felt so good to get to hug” and comfort Guthrie while Jones said she is proud of Guthrie and rooting for her amid the search for Nancy Guthrie. Jones also commended the younger Guthrie for her strength.
“I see it as we’re in this storm and we’re not out of the storm but there’s a light somewhere even in the midst of the storm,” Jones added, “and I think her coming here and just being able to be with us, for us to be able to hug her — I think it’s a step.”
“For me, any time you can take a step, I celebrate that,” added Jones, who was absent from “Today” last year because of her husband Uche Ojeh’s death.
Nancy Guthrie was kidnapped from her home on Feb. 1, thrusting Savannah Guthrie and her family into the national spotlight. Amid her mother’s disappearance, Savannah Guthrie pulled out from NBC’s coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina in addition to her “Today” show duties.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department launched its investigation into the elder Guthrie’s disappearance last month and insisted Thursday that the investigation is still in full force and has some solid clues. The department announced that it has a dedicated team from its homicide unit working with the FBI on the case. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told NBC News that he and his team believe Nancy Guthrie is still alive and are pursuing thousands of leads.
Drops of the 84-year-old grandmother’s blood were found on the doorstep of her home. Her suspected abductor snatched the front-door Nest camera Feb. 1, but not before it captured the ski-masked armed man with a backpack and a gun lurking on the porch and trying to cover the lens with his gloved hand. More than a dozen gloves have since been recovered in the surrounding community. But the one glove that authorities said matched the one worn by the person in the video turned out to be unrelated and was from a worker at a nearby restaurant.
There have been no DNA matches with anyone logged in the CODIS federal database.
Ransom notes came after the Feb. 1 kidnapping, but none with proof that Guthrie was alive. Locals were detained and quickly released as investigative leads appeared to dry up.
Thousands of additional tips have poured into the Pima County Sheriff’s Department since last week, when Savannah Guthrie announced a $1-million reward for information that leads to the return of her mother.
Nanos said his department is examining video from area homes that shows a car driving around the time of the abduction, but no vehicles have been linked to the crime at this point.
During Thursday’s broadcast, Bush Hager told viewers that their support for Guthrie and her family hasn’t gone unnoticed by the longtime anchor. She also recalled that during troubling times, Guthrie never viewed her faith as a last resort.
“‘God has always been my first resort,’” Bush Hager recalled Guthrie saying, adding that her colleague is “one of the most precious things in our lives.”
“We’re gonna get her back here,” Jones said.
Times staff writers Richard Winton and Matthew Ormseth contributed to this report.
