Savannah Guthrie’s mother, Nancy Guthrie, made a rare appearance on the Today show just a few weeks before she was reported missing from her residence in Tucson, Arizona.
The 84-year-old Nancy was last seen on Saturday night near her home, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.
In response, search operations are underway throughout the Tucson area. Teams equipped with dogs, drones, and even the sheriff’s department’s airplane are scouring the Catalina Foothills neighborhood in an effort to locate her.
The FBI has been made aware of Nancy’s disappearance, and homicide detectives have been brought into the investigation.
Prior to this incident, Nancy appeared on the Today show alongside her daughter Annie in a segment where Savannah, aged 54, made a nostalgic return to her hometown.
The segment, which aired in November, featured Savannah reuniting with her mother and sister at one of her cherished Mexican restaurants.
‘But by far my favorite part about Tucson is family,’ she said as she narrated the scene.
‘El Charro is the oldest family-owned Mexican restaurant in America. A place to catch up with mine, my mom Nancy and sister Annie.’
Savannah Guthrie’s mother Nancy made an appearance on the Today show months before she disappeared from her hometown in Tucson, Arizona
The broadcaster’s mother revealed she set roots in Tucson because of the quality of life
‘I come here every time I come home to Tucson,’ Savannah continued as she took a seat.
The broadcaster then turned her attention to her mother and asked her why she decided to settle down in Tucson.
She asked: ‘What made you want to stay in Tucson and put down roots?’
‘It’s so wonderful,’ her mom replied. ‘Just the air, the quality of life is laid back and gentle. I like to watch the hovalina eat my plants.’
Savannah, who lost her father to a heart attack when she was just a teenager, has often spoken about her family over the years.
In 2023, she gushed about her mom’s faith that she would one day have children of her own.
‘When I was in my 30s, I really wished to be married and to be a mom, and things just did not happen that fast for me,’ she said on the Today show.
‘And my mom’s confidence that I would be a mom — even as the years ticked by and ticked by and ticked by — meant so much to me.
Joined by Nancy’s other daughter Annie, the trio gathered for lunch at Savannah’s favorite restaurant
Savannah grew up in Arizona with her brother Camron and sister Annie
‘She said, ‘Of course you’ll be a mom, and you’re going to be a wonderful mom.’
‘And for her to have that confidence and faith was so meaningful to me. It got me through some really hard times.’
Savannah is mom to two children, daughter Vale and son Charley, whom she shares with her husband Michael Feldman.
In a podcast appearance in 2023, she opened up about losing her dad and how ‘grief is a lifelong process.’
Speaking to Brookes Nader, she said: ‘I think it changes everything. I always think of it as on our calendars we have B.C. and A.D. There’s a before and after. It’s just this stark dividing line.
‘There’s before my dad died and there’s after, and it’s profound. Grief is a lifelong process. I really believe that. There’s acute grief.
‘There’s different moments of grief, but I remember thinking even then when I was a late teenager, I always thought, I have a cup of grief now. It’s like a cup of water and I’m going to spend the rest of my life emptying this cup.
Nancy has been missing since Saturday and the FBI is involved in trying to find her
Savannah issued a statement on the news on Monday’s episode of the Today show
‘And sometimes it’s coming out in buckets. And sometimes it’s a little sprinkle and sometimes I can just hold it, and nothing comes out. But every last drop of this cup will not be empty until I leave this world.
‘I will always carry this grief. It doesn’t mean that I’m not happy, that I’m not joyous, but it’s part of me.’
Savannah, who grew up in Arizona with her brother Camron, and sister, Annie, explained that her father’s death made her ‘more serious internally.’
‘When you lose a parent like that, so suddenly, it’s so shocking at 16, you just have some knowledge,’ she said.
‘You just know something about the world that hopefully others don’t have to know.’
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said the search for Nancy is still being treated as a search and rescue operation but was unable to rule out the possibility of foul play.
Nancy is described as five-foot-five inches, weighing about 150 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.
It is unclear what she may have been wearing at the time of her disappearance.
She is considered a ‘vulnerable adult’ mostly due to her age and physical mobility issues, deputies said, noting that she does not have any cognitive issues.
Savannah issued a statement on the news on Monday’s episode of the Today show.
‘I want to thank everyone for the thoughts, prayers, and messages of support,’ she said.
‘Right now, our focus remains on the safe return of our dear mom.
‘We thank law enforcement for their hard work on this case and encourage anyone, anyone with information to contact the Pima County Sheriff’s office at 520-351-4900.’
