Savannah Guthrie was reportedly dismayed by doubts about ‘Today’ return

NBC’s “Today” anchor Savannah Guthrie was reportedly upset by rumors that she wouldn’t return to work after her mother’s disappearance.

Nancy Guthrie went missing on Feb. 1, prompting a nationwide search that took Savannah Guthrie away from “Today” for more than two months amid a desperate search that has come up empty. 

When her mother went missing, Guthrie reportedly “barely thought about work or how she might eventually handle her return” until she caught wind that some of her peers doubted whether she would return to NBC’s flagship morning show. 

“When the media newsletter Status reported, just two weeks after Nancy’s likely kidnapping, that ‘a majority of TV veterans’ interviewed ‘expressed doubts’ that Guthrie would ever go back to Today, she was surprised and dismayed,” New York Magazine’s Irin Carmon wrote for the publication’s Vulture entertainment vertical. 

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“As the case dragged on without resolution, the question became harder to avoid,” Carmon continued. “According to the source close to her, Guthrie worried about her ability to hold it together on air and whether the dark cloud around the story could somehow harm the show.”

Proving doubters wrong, Guthrie returned to air 64 days after the shocking disappearance. On her first day back, the “Today” anchor donned yellow in support of her mother while sitting next to Craig Melvin, who wore a yellow tie and ribbon pin to match.

Guthrie acknowledged prayers and letters from fans and declared it was “good to be home,” but largely stuck to business as usual and never mentioned her mother by name during the show. 

“It was ‘Savannah’s idea,’ a senior staffer told me, that they would all say as little as possible about her absence. A person close to the show said everyone acknowledged that ‘most viewers were not tuning in to have a séance about her missing mom,’” Carmon wrote. 

“Melvin patted her hand and said, ‘It is good to have you back at home,’ but the anchors kept it brisk,” he continued. She didn’t cry until about an hour and a half in, when she and other hosts greeted well-wishers on the plaza.”

NBC News did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

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Savannah Guthrie and her mother Nancy Guthrie are pictured Thursday, June 15, 2023. (Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)

Nancy Guthrie is believed to have been taken from her home against her will and was last seen when her son-in-law dropped her off at home around 10 p.m. the night before she went missing.

A masked man who appeared on Nancy Guthrie’s Nest doorbell camera around the time authorities said she was taken is described as being of average height and build and carrying a black Ozark Trail backpack. He appeared to be armed with a handgun.

A person purporting to have direct knowledge of the abduction claims to have video evidence and that there were two kidnappers directly involved, according to TMZ founder Harvey Levin, who received the message.

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Levin revealed the latest email in a series of messages he said he’s received since the early days of the case, from someone claiming to know what happened to Nancy Guthrie. 

Authorities have not publicly confirmed the legitimacy of the first two notes that have been deemed possibly authentic — or the TMZ emails, and sources close to the investigation appear split when it comes to the legitimacy. 

Anyone with information on Guthrie’s case is asked to dial 1-800-CALL-FBI. There is a combined reward of more than $1.2 million for information that cracks the case. Tips can be provided anonymously to Tucson’s Crime Stoppers affiliate, 88-Crime, at 1-520-882-7463.

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Digital’s Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.