NBC’s Savannah Guthrie largely kept the focus on the news during her highly anticipated return to “Today” on Monday after a two-month absence as the search for her missing mother continues.
Guthrie was poised during her return, which came 64 days after her mother, Nancy, went missing from her Arizona home. At 8:30 a.m. ET, 90 minutes into her return, Guthrie went outside to join the crowd gathered in the plaza outside the show’s Rockefeller Center studio.
“These signs are so beautiful. You guys have been so beautiful, I received so many letters, so much kindness, and my whole family, we feel it, we feel your prayers. Thank you so much,” Guthrie said as she teared up.
Guthrie then acknowledged a fan wearing a shirt that said, “Welcome home Savannah,” and took selfies with members of the crowd. She never mentioned her mother by name during the show.
Nancy Guthrie went missing on Feb. 1, prompting her daughter to step away from NBC’s flagship morning show. The nationwide search for her mother has made national headlines but so far elicited few clues about her whereabouts or fate.
Guthrie treated her return like business as usual at the opening, teasing stories on the war with Iran, President Donald Trump’s Easter morning social media post, rising gas prices and the Artemis II mission to space.
“Good morning, welcome to ‘Today’ on this Monday morning. We are so glad you started your week with us, and it is good to be home,” Guthrie told viewers to kick off the program.
“Here we go, ready or not, let’s do the news,” she added, alongside co-anchor Craig Melvin.
Once Guthrie said she was happy to be home, NBC’s morning show did the news as usual. Later in the first hour, Guthrie noted the “love” from fans.
“Some beautiful signs out there,” Guthrie said.
“I’m excited to see them, give them all a hug,” she continued, teasing her eventual trip outside. “I’ve been really feeling the love so much.”
Guthrie donned a yellow dress, and her colleagues wore yellow ribbon pins in a nod to her missing mother.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE’S EASTER MESSAGE REVEALS ANGUISH AS MOM MISSING 63 DAYS
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.
Investigators and the family have repeatedly appealed to the public for help. There is a combined reward of more than $1.2 million in connection with the case — a million of it from the Guthrie family for their mother’s recovery. The family has asked anyone with information to call 1-800-CALL-FBI.
