Hoda Kotb returned to Studio 1A on Friday morning to address the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie’s mother, Nancy Guthrie.
One year after stepping away from her role on the Today show, the 61-year-old journalist spoke candidly about how “helpless” she and her former co-hosts feel as the situation unfolds.
“We’re all so close with her, and we all want to help,” Kotb said, recalling how Savannah stood by her side during her daughter Hope’s hospitalization in 2023.
Savannah Guthrie’s 84-year-old mother was declared missing on Sunday.
Reflecting on her former co-host’s unwavering support, Hoda Kotb, 54, shared, “I’m looking at us and I was thinking, who was first in the hospital when Hope was sick? Savannah. Who hopped on a plane for [Carson Daly’s] parents? Savannah.”
She highlighted how Savannah “was sitting by” Sheinelle Jones’ late husband Uche Ojeh during his cancer battle and supported Craig Melvin after his brother’s passing.
Kotb, who left NBC in January 2025, emphasized that Savannah “was always there” for her Today show “family.” She added that since “love is patient,” she can also be “patient with prayers.”
On Friday, Hoda Kotb reflected on Savannah Guthrie’s support during her daughter Hope’s 2023 health crisis.
Craig Melvin, 46, echoed Kotb’s “feeling of helplessness” but added, “We’re not helpless because it’s prayer and hope. Prayer and hope. Prayer and hope.”
Savannah has been off the air since Monday, after it was reported that her mother went missing from her Tucson, Arizona, home over the weekend. The Daytime Emmy winner has also withdrawn from covering the 2026 Winter Olympics.
On Friday, Kotb noted that Savannah Guthrie had also been there for Craig Melvin after the loss of his brother and for Sheinelle Jones during her husband’s battle with cancer.
Authorities are treating Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance as a potential kidnapping. Former CIA officer and FBI special agent Tracy Walder told Page Six that Nancy had likely been “stalked for some time.”
The FBI is now working with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, and a $50,000 reward has been offered for information leading to Nancy Guthrie’s recovery or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved.
A purported ransom note demanding billions in Bitcoin has helped investigators establish a “radius around Tucson,” TMZ founder Harvey Levin said on CNN Thursday night.
Savannah and her siblings, Camron and Annie Guthrie, have made multiple video appeals to their mother’s alleged captors, emphasizing that they are “ready to talk” but are seeking “proof of life.”
Kotb (pictured above in July 2024) left the Today show in January 2025.
On Thursday’s broadcast, Craig Melvin and Sheinelle Jones, 47, shared the family’s tearful plea, saying, “Most days, of course, Savannah greets you right here from this desk. This morning, our dear friend has a very different message.”
Just two days earlier, Jones admitted that she and her colleagues are “rattled” and having “trouble sleeping” amid the ongoing search for Nancy Guthrie. Security has also been notably increased at NBC’s studio as the investigation continues.
