Savannah Guthrie Reveals Desperate Struggle To ‘Hold It Together’ After Returning to ‘Today’ While Mom Nancy Is Still Missing

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"Today" show host Savannah Guthrie has lifted the lid on her difficult return to the morning show—admitting that she faces a daily struggle to "hold it together" on air while her mother, Nancy Guthrie, is still missing.

More than four months after 84-year-old Nancy was abducted from her Arizona home, Savannah, 54, spoke to her co-host, Jenna Bush Hager, about what it has been like to return to the NBC studios even as the search for her mother is ongoing.

Stepping in for Sheinelle Jones as a co-host of "Today with Jenna & Sheinelle," Savannah held back tears as she explained how much she has appreciated the opportunity to go back to work—while sharing the bittersweet emotions she feels stepping in front of the cameras ever day.

Savannah—who returned to "Today" on April 6—admitted that although work can become "too much" at times, she is thankful for her NBC family, who welcomed her back with open arms, allowing her to avoid thinking about her mom for "two hours."

"First of all, I can’t really even look at you every day without crying. You are my best friend. You know, it’s really hard to come back. I’ve been trying so hard to hold it together, and I promise I will," Savannah said.

Anyone with any information about Nancy Guthrie's case should call 1-800-CALL-FBI, 520-351-4900, 88-CRIME, or visit https://tips.fbi.gov/.

She confessed that she tries her best to remain professional; however, it can often be too difficult to manage.

"When I see you in the morning, I know you see me, no matter what is going on, and sometimes that's almost too much because I feel like to do the job I gotta keep it together, pull it together," she said.

"But I’m happy to be back. It’s like the two hours of my day—it’s not that I’m not thinking about it, because I am, but it’s something to do and it brings me a lot of joy to be with everybody. But, no, it’s not easy."

Although the morning show helps take her mind of the heartbreaking situation, Savannah noted that the thought of her mom being kidnapped is always with her.

"It’s always with me. I cry every morning on the way to work, and I cry every morning on the way home," she revealed. "And I’m grateful to have good friends and to be able to come to such a beautiful and joyous and supportive place.

"Like so many people out there, you can hold all of these things together. I try to tell my kids that, too. We can hold our sadness and we can hold our joy. And if you don’t believe it, just watch me."

The TV personality conceded that although she may seem happy to viewers at home, she is constantly holding back tears.

"I know maybe people wonder, ‘Whoa, what’s going on? How’s she able to do that job? Is she not thinking about it? Did she forget?’ No, never. Never," she added.

Savannah then made a personal plea to the viewers of the show for information about her mother's case, saying: "We still need everybody’s prayers. I wish someone would call and say what they know and tell the truth."

Her on-air statement echoed a message she shared in a heartfelt June 7 Instagram post about her mom, in which she begged the kidnappers to "bring her home."

Savannah took to Instagram to give fans an emotional message about her mom, who was taken from her Tucson, Arizona, home in the middle of the night on Feb. 1.

Alongside an image that showed Christ's ascension with the words, "Oh my, my soul it cries out, soul, it cries out," Savannah added a simple message: "Bring her home."

Her tearjerking social media post came less than a month after Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos claimed that authorities investigating the disappearance of Guthrie are intentionally holding back information about their progress from the public in a bid to "protect" the integrity of the case.

Nanos, who has been leading the investigation into Guthrie's abduction from her Arizona home, hit back at criticism over the apparent lack of progress in the case, telling local outlet KOLD that there is more going on behind the scenes than authorities are willing to share.

When asked whether there are details about the case that have not been revealed, Nanos said: "Yes, absolutely there are. But it's not done because we got [to] keep it a secret. It's done because we got to protect our case."

More than 100 days in to the investigation, Nanos then doubled down on his insistence that his department—in collaboration with the FBI—is getting closer to identifying and finding those responsible for Guthrie's disappearance.

"I believe, at some point in time, we will make an arrest on this case," he said. "And whoever that individual is, that individual will have a right to a fair and impartial trial. We continue to work with our labs, whether it’s on the digital end or the biological end, DNA."

His comments came after reality star Khloe Kardashian pulled fresh focus onto the investigation during an episode of her podcast, "Khloe in Wonder Land," in which she discussed her interest in the case with true crime podcaster Ashley Flowers.

Kardashian described the disappearance of Guthrie as "heartbreaking," before questioning how authorities still haven't publicly produced any significant leads.

"Nancy Guthrie, I mean, is that not heartbreaking?" she began. "I don't know. I'm just like, this is 2026. There is nothing? That is mind-blowing."

She then called attention to the alleged ransom notes that were sent to multiple media outlets in the weeks after disappearance, which have yet to be publicly verified by the sheriff's department or the FBI, despite Savannah previously admitting that she believes at least some of the notes to be real.

"How weird was that?" she went on. "It’s so much, and I just can’t understand that in 2026 there’s not—like you said—that’s what I don’t believe, that there’s not one piece of information. They’re not telling us."

Nanos has faced mounting criticism of his handling of the Guthrie case—as well as allegations that he lied about his disciplinary record—prompting the Pima County Board of Supervisors to hold a vote on whether to vacate him from his job.

That motion failed during a meeting on May 12, which Nanos did not attend.

Meanwhile, the sheriff has continued to defend the investigation, telling KOLD that he and his team are doing everything in their power to track down those responsible for the grandmother's abduction.

However, he pointed to several hurdles that have come up during that process, including the analysis of DNA recovered from Guthrie's Tucson-area home, which he said is moving at "a snail pace."

"They are working hard to get this resolved, and I think every day they get closer," Nanos went on. "Day one, the FBI was involved in this case, and they continue to be involved in this case. Every single day.

"There’s way too much work to be done, that is ongoing, with some of the physical evidence we have."

What is the full timeline of Nancy Guthrie's disappearance?

Nanos noted during a media briefing on Feb. 5 that, while times are approximate, his team has pieced together several pieces of evidence that indicate Nancy's movements—and the timeline of her apparent abduction.

Nancy was reported missing at around 12 p.m. local time on Feb. 1, around 14 hours after she was dropped off at the property following a family dinner. When she failed to turn up at her usual church gathering on Sunday, her friends alerted her family, who found her home was empty.

SATURDAY, JAN. 31

5:32 p.m. Nancy travels to Annie's house in an Uber for "dinner and playing games with the family."

9:48 p.m. A garage door at Nancy's house opens when she was dropped off at the property by her daughter.

9:50 p.m. The garage door closes, indicating that Nancy was inside the home.

SUNDAY, FEB. 1

1:47 a.m. Nancy's doorbell security camera is disconnected.

2:12 a.m. Movement is detected on a security camera at the home. No footage of this is currently available.

2:28 a.m. Nancy's pacemaker app indicates that the device has been disconnected from her phone.

11:00 a.m. Nancy fails to arrive at the home of a friend, where she had been due to watch a church service livestream.

11:56 a.m. Nancy's family travels to her home to check on her and finds the property empty.

12:03 p.m. The family calls 911 to report Nancy missing.

12:14 p.m. Police officers arrive at Nancy's home.