Savannah Guthrie was spotted in the “Today” show studio for the first time since her mother, Nancy, disappeared.
While she did not appear on air, Jenna Bush Hager confirmed that Guthrie had come “home” to pay them all visit. She added that Guthrie “talked to all of us” and “hugged every single person” she could.
“She said that she has the intention to return to the show, even though it feels like the hardest thing to do. It’s also her home and where she feels so loved, and she is beyond loved here,” Hager said, becoming visibly emotional “And so we’re happy that she is home. I don’t know when she’s actually returning to the show, but she was here, and that felt so good to get to hug her.”
In images obtained by TMZ, Guthrie can be seen embracing cast and crew members through the rain-streaked window of Studio 1A inside New York City’s Rockefeller Center.
Co-host Sheinelle Jones added that she was “proud” of Guthrie, acknowledging the strength it took for her to return to the studio amid the search for her missing mother.
“I see it as, we’re in this storm, and we’re not out of the storm, but there’s a light somewhere, even in the midst of the storm,” Jones said. “Her coming here, and just being able to be with us, and for us to be able to hug her, I think it’s a step, right?”
It has been more than a month since Guthrie’s mother, 84-year-old Nancy, was apparently abducted from her home in Tucson, Arizona. She was last seen alive the night of January 31, after having dinner with her other daughter, Annie, and Annie’s husband, Tommaso Cioni. The couple said they dropped Nancy off sometime between 9 and 9:30 p.m., and she was reported missing the following day around noon, after she failed to show up for church.
A search of her home later turned up the Guthrie matriarch’s blood in the doorway, while all of her personal belongings — including her wallet, cellphone and car — were left untouched.
Authorities have had few breaks in the case aside from surveillance video they believe captured a suspect. The FBI Phoenix office has described this person as “a male, approximately 5’9 – 5’10, with an average build.” He is also wearing a black, 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack in the clip.
The search for Nancy remains ongoing, and the Guthrie family has offered a reward of up to $1 million for information that will lead to her recovery.
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