Savannah Guthrie returned to the anchor desk of ‘Today’ on Monday, appearing composed and focused in her first broadcast in over two months following her mother’s disappearance. After delivering several headlines, she briefly addressed viewers, saying she was glad to start the week with them and that it felt good to be back.
As the show began, Guthrie said, “Here we go, ready or not”, adding, “Let’s do the news.”
“We are so glad that you started our week with us and it’s good to be home,” she mentioned.
Her co-host, Craig Melvin, welcomed her return on air, saying it was good to have her back. At the end of the show’s first 25-minute segment, the two shared a light moment with a high-five.
Guthrie, who has been a host of the programme since 2012, is one of the most prominent figures in morning television. She has said the experience has changed her deeply and acknowledged the difficulty of moving forward without knowing what happened to her mother, who authorities believe was abducted from her home in Arizona.
Despite a massive search effort involving thousands of federal and local officials, along with volunteers, there has been no trace of the 84-year-old woman since she was reported missing on February 1.
The “Today” programme has closely covered the case over the past two months, but it was notably absent from discussion during the first hour of Savannah Guthrie’s return on Monday.
The decision appeared deliberate, as the show focused on restoring a sense of normalcy, her comeback wasn’t mentioned during segments with Gabe Gutierrez reporting from the White House or with military analyst Steve Warren in the studio, according to AP.
Meanwhile, Hoda Kotb, who had stepped in for Guthrie for much of the past two months and had even interviewed her during that time, was not present on set for Monday’s broadcast.
What did Savannah say in her Easter message?
As part of a video message shared by her church on Easter Sunday, spoke candidly about experiencing “moments of deep disappointment with God, the feeling of utter abandonment.” She reflected that the meaning of the resurrection cannot be fully understood without first confronting feelings of grief, pain, and even death.
While announcing her return to “Today”, Guthrie admitted she was unsure whether she would feel like she still belonged.
“It’s hard to imagine doing it because it’s such a place of joy and lightness,” she mentioned just more than a week ago on “Today” during her first interview since the disappearance. “I can’t come back and try to be something that I’m not. But I can’t not come back because it’s my family,” she said.
She also stated she didn’t plan to pretend everything was normal on a show that typically blends lighthearted segments with serious news.
In the weeks leading up to her comeback, there had been significant speculation about whether she would return at all.
She informed Hoda Kotb, who came back to “Today” to fill in while Guthrie was engaged in the search, that “I want to smile, and when I do it will be real”, noting, “Being there is joyful, and when it’s not I’ll say so.”
Nancy Guthrie had appeared occasionally on the “Today” programme over the years, including joining a cooking segment and once surprising her daughter on set.
During a 2025 visit to her hometown of Tucson for a recorded segment, Savannah Guthrie spent time with her mother at one of their favorite local restaurants, where they spoke about their shared affection for Arizona.
Nancy Guthrie missing case
The Guthrie family has since announced a $1 million reward for information that could help locate Nancy. Authorities suspect she was abducted or forcibly taken after blood was discovered near the entrance of her home in the foothills outside Tucson.
The FBI later released surveillance footage showing a masked individual on her porch that night.
In the days following her disappearance, volunteers and search teams combed through the surrounding desert landscape, which is filled with cacti, brush, and rocky terrain.
However, momentum in the case has slowed. Although it was initially treated as a top-priority investigation by federal and local agencies, there have been no new developments in recent weeks, and officials say tips from the public have declined. Both the FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department confirmed last week that they had no developments to share.
(With inputs from AP)
