Savannah Guthrie feared her mother may have been targeted because of her fame
Savannah Guthrie feared her mother may have been targeted because of her fame
Savannah Guthrie is reflecting on the deep anxiety and sorrow she has felt since her mother, Nancy Guthrie, went missing from their home in Tucson, Arizona. In her first interview since the disappearance, she shared her concerns about how her mother’s fame as a co-anchor on “TODAY” might have contributed to her being taken. “I don’t know that it’s because she’s my mom and someone thought, ‘Oh, that lady has money. We can … make a quick buck,’ I mean, that would make sense,” she told Hoda Kotb. “But we don’t know. Which is too much to bear, to think that I brought this to her bedside. That it’s because of me.”
“I’d just say, ‘I’m so sorry, Mommy. I’m so sorry.’ I’m so sorry to my sister and my brother and my kids and my nephew and Tommy, my brother-in-law,” Savannah Guthrie said. “If it is me, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Nancy Guthrie, 84, was reported missing on February 1 after failing to attend a virtual church service at a friend’s house. She was last seen the previous evening, around 9:45 p.m., following dinner at her daughter Annie Guthrie’s home. The Guthrie family quickly realized something serious had occurred, as the doors were left open and blood was spotted on the front doorstep. A Ring camera had also been pulled from its mount, adding to the sense of intrusion.
Brother’s Insight on the Situation
Savannah Guthrie emphasized that her brother, a military veteran with a sharp mind, immediately recognized the gravity of the situation. “Even on the phone when I called him, he knew,” she recounted. “He said, ‘I think she’s been kidnapped for ransom.’ And I said, ‘What? Well, why? What?’”
“It sounds so, like, how dumb could I be? But I just — I didn’t wanna believe. I just said, ‘Do you think because of me?’ And he said, ‘I’m sorry, sweetie, but yeah, maybe.’ But I knew that,” Savannah Guthrie said.
Her sister and brother-in-law were equally certain from the start that Nancy had not simply wandered off. “Annie and Tommy were saying, ‘This isn’t — this isn’t that case where someone just disappears on their own. She can’t wander off,’” Savannah explained, noting her mother’s chronic pain and mobility issues. “On a good day, she could walk down to the mailbox and get the mail, but most days not.”
Investigation and Ransom Notes
Despite initial speculation about a medical emergency, the family’s doubts grew as evidence mounted. “The back doors were propped open, you know, and that didn’t make sense. We thought maybe they came and there was a stretcher and they took her out the back. But her phone was there and her purse was there and all her things,” she said.
Within hours, Savannah was en route to Tucson, joining a sprawling investigation involving state and federal agencies. The probe has included land searches, neighbor surveillance footage, and multiple ransom notes. While some were deemed suspicious, she believes two of the notes are genuine. “There are a lot of different notes, I think, that came. And I think most of them, it’s my understanding, are not real. And I didn’t see them. But, you know, a person that would send a fake ransom note really has to look deeply at themselves, to a family in pain.”
Social Media Appeal for Clues
Savannah and her siblings have taken to Instagram to plead for help, offering a $1 million reward for information leading to her mother’s safe return. “Recording such videos has been surreal,” she admitted. “How is it possible…”
