Katie Couric is weighing in on how the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie’s mom, Nancy Guthrie, is impacting the Today show.
“This situation is tragically unprecedented, and I think it’s really hard to compare anything else to what Savannah and her family are dealing with right now,” Couric, 69, said in an article published by Variety on Thursday, February 26. “I do think morning shows are living, breathing organisms, and when something happens to a member of these very close-knit teams, it is devastating.”
Couric worked at NBC’s Today from 1991 to 2006 before moving to CBS.
“I think the Today show team is doing the best they possibly can, and it must be excruciating to try to carry on, but also to cover a story about a beloved colleague,” she added.
Savannah, 54, has been on a leave of absence from the Today show since February 2 as the investigation into Nancy’s disappearance continues. News broke on February 1 that 84-year-old Nancy had gone missing from her Tucson, Arizona, home after being dropped off by family members the night before. She was reported missing after not attending a virtual church service.
No suspects have been named in her disappearance, but the FBI has released photos and video footage of her alleged abductor. According to authorities, Nancy was taken from her home in the early hours of February 1. The apparent suspect wore all black and a ski mask, along with carrying a backpack and gun holster, per the surveillance footage.
Savannah and her family, including sister Annie and brother Camron, are offering a $1 million reward to anyone with information into Nancy’s disappearance.
“We know that millions of you have been praying. So many people have been praying of every faith and no faith at all, praying for her return, and we feel those prayers,” Savannah said in an Instagram video posted on Tuesday, February 24. “Please keep praying without ceasing. We still believe.”
She added, “We also know that she may be lost. She may already be gone. She may have already gone home to the Lord that she loves and is dancing in Heaven with her mom and her dad and with her beloved brother, Pierce, and with our daddy. And if this is what is to be, then we will accept it. But we need to know where she is. We need her to come home.”
Luxury Handbag Shopping confirmed on Thursday, February 26, that Hoda Kotb will continue to cohost Today alongside Craig Melvin in Savannah’s absence. They have continued to share daily updates on Nancy’s disappearance. (Kotb officially left the Today show in January 2025 but has returned several times since her departure.)
Details about Savannah’s return to work are not a worry for NBC as questions about Nancy’s disappearance continue to rise. In fact, it’s “the furthest from anyone’s mind right now,” a source told Us exclusively late last week.
“Savannah is focused on her mother, with the full support of NBC,” the insider added.
