A top host of the Today show has returned to NBC in a heartfelt display of support for Savannah Guthrie after her former colleague’s 84-year-old mother was kidnapped from her home late last month.
“I just want to say this whole thing is breaking my heart and I’m happy to be sitting here with you,” Hoda Kotb, who was Guthrie’s co-anchor between 2018 and 2025, said Friday, joining network mainstays Carson Daly, Sheinelle Jones and Craig Melvin in the studio.
“The nation’s rallying around our dear friend Savannah and her family, believing their beloved mom Nancy will be back soon in their loving arms,” she added.
Guthrie’s mother, Nancy, was reported missing from her home just north of Tucson, Arizona, last weekend.
Pima County Sheriff’s Department says the 84-year-old was last seen January 31 after being dropped off at the property by her son-in-law. The family reported her missing just before noon the following day.
Details released by local authorities indicate Nancy’s doorbell camera was disconnected around 1.47 a.m. on February 1, and that her pacemaker app indicated a disconnect from her phone around half an hour later.
“We believe she was taken out of the home against her will, and that’s how this investigation is moving,” Sheriff Chris Nanos told NBC Monday.
Savannah issued an impassioned plea to her mother’s possible abductors on Wednesday. “We live in a world where voices and images are easily manipulated,” she said in a tearful video, posted online.
“We need to know, without a doubt, that she is alive and that you have her,” she added. “We want to hear from you, and we are ready to listen. Please, reach out to us.”
Kotb returned to the NBC studio on Friday to help present a segment on the outpouring of public support the Guthrie family has received.
“I just want to say good morning, and everybody’s hoping and praying for Nancy’s safe return,” she said. “There’s been a massive show of support, from vigils to people offering positive thoughts online and just a lot of hope.”
