Hoda Kotb reflected on how Savannah Guthrie has continued to navigate mother Nancy Guthrie‘s missing case.
“There is a desperation and also a steeliness about Savannah,” Kotb, 61, shared on the Wednesday, March 25, episode of the Today show. “She’s hoping that somebody — whoever this person is — will see something and say something.”
Kotb, who had a sit-down interview with Savannah, 54, noted that they talked “about so many things.”
“She talks about the investigation, she talks about her faith and she talks about how she’s getting through,” Kotb continued. “That was one portion there, and then the next portion you’ll see how she talks about how God’s holding her hand.”
After speaking with her friend on camera, Kotb was in awe of Savannah’s strength, adding, “I was sort of marveling that she was able to sit there with an outfit on, have a conversation and also have direct thoughts about what she sees going forward. … It’s like no one’s stealing her joy, so you’ll see both sides of that.”
Savannah got emotional during a segment for the morning show while detailing the ongoing search for Nancy.
“Someone needs to do the right thing. We are in agony,” she shared about the “unbearable” pain of waiting for updates. “And to think of what she went through. I wake up every night in the middle of the night. Every night. And in the darkness, I imagine her terror. And it is unthinkable.”
Nancy, 84, was reported missing in February, one day after she was last seen in Arizona. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos later noted that there were “concerning circumstances” found in Nancy’s home.
“She’s very alert, she’s of good, sound mind,” he told reporters, adding that Nancy is “not in good” physical health. “I hope we find her safe and sound, but we can’t ignore what’s in front of us.”
Savannah, meanwhile, has been absent from Today amid her mother’s disappearance. She previously shared a statement from her family with the show, which read, “On behalf of our family, I want to thank everyone for the thoughts, prayers and messages of support. Right now, our focus remains on the safe return of our dear mom. We thank law enforcement for their hard work on this case and encourage anyone with information to contact the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.”
Savannah and her siblings, Annie and Camron Guthrie, have since kept sharing public messages in hopes that their mother’s kidnapper would listen. In February, they confirmed that the reward for Nancy’s return had been raised to $1 million.
“She may have already gone home to the Lord that she loves and is dancing in heaven with her mom and her dad and with her beloved brother, Pierce, and with our daddy. If this is what is to be, then we will accept it,” Savannah said at the time. “But we need to know where she is. We need her to come home.”
The FBI has previously released photos and video footage of a subject outside of Nancy’s home.
