Beloved “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie made her emotional return to the desk after more than two months away following the abduction of her mother, Nancy Guthrie.
“We are so glad you started your week with us, and it is good to be home,” Guthrie, who wore a bright yellow dress and matching yellow heart necklace, said to begin the Monday, April 6, show.
“It is good to be home. Here we go, ready or not â letâs do the news.”
Guthrie’s Message Ahead of Her Return
NBC first announced Guthrie’s plans to return to work on March 27.
“Itâs where she belongs. Itâs where we all want her to be. We cannot wait to welcome her back with open arms here in Studio 1A,” co-host Craig Melvin announced during the broadcast.
During a heart-wrenching interview with former co-host Hoda Kotb â who has been filling in for the longtime host throughout her absence â Guthrie opened up about her decision.
“Itâs hard to imagine doing it because itâs such a place of joy and lightness, and I canât come back and try to be something that Iâm not. But I canât not come back, because itâs my family. I think itâs part of my purpose right now,” she said at the time. “I want to smile. And when I do, it will be real.”
Guthrie continued, “I will have joy. And my joy will be my protest. My joy will be my answer. And being there is joyful. And when itâs not, Iâll say so. I have been so grateful to have this family. I consider this my family, my greater family.”
Savannah Guthrie’s Extended Absence
The Tucson, Arizona, native â who first joined the long-running news broadcast in 2012 â stepped away from the show amid the search for her missing mother.
Nancy Guthrie was first reported missing on February 1 after she missed her scheduled church service. The 84-year-old was last seen the night prior at a family dinner hosted by daughter Annie Guthrie.
The search for the missing mother continues as the FBI’s Phoenix division, along with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, asks for the public’s help in identifying a man of average build, 5 feet, 9 inches to 5 feet, 10 inches tall, wearing a black Ozark Trail Hiker Pack 25-liter backpack.
The masked individual was seen tampering with Guthrie’s front doorbell camera on the morning of her disappearance. Investigators have not yet identified a suspect or a motive in the case.
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