Savannah Speaks: A Dateline Special

Summary

Dateline NBC: Savannah Speaks – A Dateline Special

Air Date: March 28, 2026
Host/Interviewer: Hoda Kotb
Guest: Savannah Guthrie

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Episode Overview

This special Dateline NBC episode centers on Savannah Guthrie’s first in-depth public interview since the abduction of her mother, Nancy Guthrie. Savannah opens up about the trauma and anguish of her family’s ordeal, shares memories of her mother, reflects on her faith, and discusses her uncertain future both as a daughter and a public figure. Through candid storytelling and raw emotion, Savannah’s journey is at once unbearably painful and deeply hopeful.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Day Life Changed: Nancy Guthrie’s Disappearance

Timestamps: 03:18–05:31

• Savannah recounts the day her mother went missing and learning the news amid ordinary family activities.
• She describes the chaos that followed: calls to 911 and hospitals, the realization that something was terribly wrong.
• The family quickly concluded this was not a typical case of a missing elderly person due to evidence at the scene—doors propped open, valuables left behind, and clear signs of struggle.
  • Savannah: “She can't wander off. She was in tremendous pain. Her back was very bad. On a good day she could walk down to the mailbox and get the mail. But most days not. So there was no wander off. And the doors were propped open. And there was blood on the front doorstep. And the ring camera had been yanked off. And so we were saying this... this is not okay. Something is very wrong here.” (06:08)

The Emotional Toll and Guilt

Timestamps: 06:33–09:10

• Savannah discusses her disbelief, numbness, and guilt—fearing her public profile may have made her mother a target.
  • Savannah: “To think that I brought this to her bedside. That it's because of me. And I just say, I'm so sorry, mommy. I'm so sorry.” (08:15)

Ransom Notes and the Investigation

Timestamps: 09:24–13:55

• The family received ransom notes; most were deemed fake, but two seemed authentic.
  • Savannah: “I tend to believe those [two notes] are real, really, which is why we responded. We received your message and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her.” (12:24)
• Authorities released video footage: a masked man, armed, entering the house.
  • Savannah: “I mean, it's just absolutely terrifying. And I can't imagine that that is who she saw standing over her bed. I can't.” (13:17)
• The video helped dispel damaging rumors about the family’s involvement.
  • Savannah: “I'm glad... that people saw. Yeah. What came to our door… It piles pain upon pain. I don't understand, I'll never understand. But we are not looking at those people. We are looking for the light.” (14:23, 14:41)

Family, Resilience, and Unimaginable Pain

Timestamps: 17:27–18:11, 19:07–22:40, 22:51–26:15

• Savannah and Hoda discuss Nancy as a mother and a person—her faith, wisdom, and strength in facing her husband’s early death.
  • Savannah: “She fought for it. Faith. She walked in faith, but not a fake, pious, put-on faith, but like a grounded, earthy... faith.” (19:31)
  • Savannah: “She showed us how to survive the unimaginable… She was resolute. She was real. So she taught me to be strong, but she taught me to be true. She showed me… Because no one ever learns anything by being told. You only learn by being shown. She showed us.” (22:51)
• The siblings’ mutual support has been vital through repeated anguish and uncertainty.
  • Savannah: “My siblings are amazing, and we are a unit.” (25:56)

The Reality for Savannah’s Children

Timestamps: 29:23–31:26

• Savannah describes trying to support her own children, balancing truth and reassurance.
  • Savannah: “Try not to be different, but also not doing them any favors by putting on some facade. Kids know. And they'd be more disturbed by something that felt not real. But my kids are my joy. And they were my mom's joy.” (30:53)

Wrestling with Faith and Seeking Hope

Timestamps: 31:37–35:47

• Savannah reflects deeply on her faith, acknowledging her doubts and struggles.
  • Savannah: “God doesn't tell us not to wrestle with him. This isn't some cheap faith. This is real. And God doesn't ask us to be stoic.” (31:37, 33:33)
  • Savannah: “One of my mom's best friends told me ... she said to my mom, ‘Nancy, how do you keep your faith?’ And my mom said to her, ‘But where else would I go?’ ... Faith is how I will stay connected to my mom.” (34:10)
• The family has offered a $1 million reward and donated $500,000 to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, acknowledging the wider community of families living with this unique agony.

Coping, No Anger, and the Need for Truth

Timestamps: 35:47–38:12

• Savannah insists on fighting for joy and hope, refusing to let tragedy or the perpetrator “take” her or her family’s happiness.
  • Savannah: “I have no anger in my heart. I have hope in my heart. I have love. But this family needs peace. Someone needs to do the right thing. We are in agony. We are in agony. It is unbearable. And to think of what she went through. I wake up every night ... in the darkness, I imagine her terror. And it is unthinkable. But those thoughts demand to be thought, and I will not hide my face.” (36:49–38:12)

Return to NBC and The Future

Timestamps: 38:21–44:19

• Savannah discusses returning to the Today Show and the difficulty of “coming back” without being able to return to her former self.
  • Savannah: “I don't know if I can do it. I don't know if I'll belong anymore. But I would like to try.” (38:21, 43:16)
  • Savannah: “I can't come back and try to be something that I'm not. But I can't not come back because it's my family. I think it's part of my purpose right now. And I think I can't collapse and I can't fall apart, though there are days that I want to, and there are days that I do. But I want to get up. I want to smile. And when I do, it will be real. I will have joy. My joy will be my answer.” (41:30)
• She expresses gratitude to her NBC “family” and the overwhelming kindness she received from colleagues and viewers.
• Announcement: Savannah Guthrie is scheduled to return to Today on April 6, 2026.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On her mother’s role:
  “She is our heart and our home.” (10:29)

• On faith and doubt:
  “God doesn't tell us not to wrestle with him. This isn't some cheap faith. This is real.” (31:37)
  “Where else would I go? ... Faith is how I will stay connected to my mom.” (34:10)

• On persevering through pain:
  “I will not let whoever did this take my children’s mother from them. I will not let them take my joy... They will not take our faith. But our anguish is real. We need help. We need someone to tell the truth... We are in agony.” (35:49–38:12)

• On returning to the Today Show:
  “I don't know if I can do it. I don't know if I'll belong anymore. But I would like to try.” (43:16)

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Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment/Highlight | |-------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:18 | Savannah recounts the day her mother went missing | | 06:08 | Family’s realization: this is a crime, not a disappearance | | 13:17 | Savannah sees images of the masked abductor for the first time | | 14:41 | Savannah addresses rumors and stands by family | | 19:31 | Savannah describes her mother’s faith and character | | 22:51 | Lessons Savannah learned from her mother’s resilience | | 31:37 | Savannah on wrestling with faith amid despair | | 34:10 | “Where else would I go?” – her mother’s powerful words on faith | | 41:30 | Savannah articulates the challenge and necessity of returning to NBC | | 43:16 | Savannah: “I would like to try” (about returning to work) |

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Tone and Style

Throughout the episode, the tone is raw, emotional, and honest. Savannah’s voice is at turns trembling, resolute, and searching. The interview is conducted with care and empathy by Hoda Kotb, who allows Savannah space to remember, process, grieve, and express gratitude—both personal and towards the broader support network.

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Final Thoughts

This episode is a moving testament to a family shattered by violence but held together by love, faith, and hope. Savannah Guthrie’s willingness to be vulnerable on a national stage provides solace for others living with unresolved loss and injustice. The story ends not with answers, but with a call to action for information and the promise of a courageous return—to family, faith, and the work she loves.

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If you have information about Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance:

Contact the FBI: 1-800-CALL-FBI

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Savannah returns to the Today Show on April 6, 2026.

Transcript

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[Savannah Guthrie]

The IRS said I filed my return, but I haven't.

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[Savannah Guthrie]

What do I do?

[Hoda Kotb]

My refund though.

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[Savannah Guthrie]

I'm so relieved.

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[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

Do you feel ready to do this?

[Savannah Guthrie]

No. I'll never be ready to talk about what's happened, but I have a lot to say.

[Hoda Kotb]

Tonight, my emotional conversation with Savannah Guthrie

[Narrator/Reporter]

about her mother's disappearance.

[Savannah Guthrie]

I just thought, where are you? Yeah, where are you? She taught me to be strong. She showed me. Because no one ever learns anything by being told. You only learn by being shown. She showed us.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

Tell me what you thought when you saw those images of the person who took your mother.

[Savannah Guthrie]

I mean, it's just absolutely terrifying. And I can't imagine that that is who she saw standing over her. Be someone knows something.

[Narrator/Reporter]

We talk about family, faith, and her future.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

So how about coming back? You know, everyone's wondering.

[Savannah Guthrie]

I can't come back and try to be something that I'm not. But I can't not come back because it's my family. When times are hard, you want to be with your family.

[Hoda Kotb]

Good evening. I'm Hoda Kotb. It's the story that has horrified the nation and it hit us so hard here at NBC, the abduction of Savannah Guthrie's beloved mom, Nancy. As we follow developments in this case, we have marveled at Savannah's strength and her courage. Well, tonight that courage, it is on full display as she opens up about her raw and deeply painful journey over these last eight weeks. This was unlike any interview I've ever done. It's a conversation both unbearable and yet somehow because of who Savannah is inspirational.

[Narrator/Reporter]

On the weekend, her family's Life changed forever. Savannah was having fun with her kids while her husband Mike was away.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

Take me back to the day. Tell me what you were doing and what happened.

[Savannah Guthrie]

I had given Mike for Christmas a boys trip to go play tennis. And so he had been gone for the weekend. So I took my kids out actually to Carson's so we could all hang out.

[Narrator/Reporter]

That's our friend and colleague, Carson Daly.

[Savannah Guthrie]

We had a beautiful, fun night together. And then I came home and really it just got home at the same time that Mike came home. And we were just saying hi, putting down our stuff, and the kids were running around. And my sister called me and I said, is everything okay? And she said, no. She said, mom's missing. And I said, what? What are you talking about? She said, she's gone. And she was in a panic. I was in a panic.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Her sister Annie was at Nancy's house in Tucson, Arizona, along with her husband Tommy. Nancy's friends had called them after she did not show up to watch an online church service.

[Savannah Guthrie]

I'm like, Call 911. She's like, I did, we've called them, they're here. You know, she tried really hard to figure it out before she worried us, you know, before she called and they were kind of running around the house. We thought that she must have had like some kind of medical episode in the night and that somehow, you know, the paramedics had come because the back doors were propped open, but her phone was there and her purse was there and all her things. And it just didn't make any sense. Annie and Tommy had already called all the hospitals. But then I'm like, I'm gonna call the hospital. So then I started calling the hospitals and the police were there and talking to her at the same time and it was just chaos. You know, that was like 2 o' clock in the afternoon. But you know, I was on a plane at 7:30 to Phoenix and then two hour drive down to Tucson and I probably got to my sister's house at 2 in the morning and my brother was already there.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

You saw Annie and Cam when you got to their house? Tell me about that moment.

[Savannah Guthrie]

Just disbelief and hugging each other. And I think we were on the phone with the sheriff and trying to really make clear this isn't that case that you are used to where someone wanders off. She can't wander off. She was in tremendous pain. Her back was very bad. On a good day she could walk down to the mailbox and get the mail. But most days not. So there was no wander Off. And the doors were propped open.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

Yeah.

[Savannah Guthrie]

And there was blood on the front doorstep. And the ring camera had been yanked off. And so we were saying this is. This is not okay. Yeah. Something is very wrong here.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

Did you guys talk about what could have happened?

[Savannah Guthrie]

Well, we talked about everything, but it's just. It's impossible to believe.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

Yeah.

[Savannah Guthrie]

Yeah. I still don't believe it. I still. Many times a day, remember? And it's like being punched in the face. Like, what are you talking about? My mom. Where's my mom? My little mom. What do you mean? Someone took her? Who took my mom? Who took this? Who took her from her bed? It doesn't make sense. I don't understand. My brother, you know, he spent his career in the military and worked in intelligence and fighter pilot and is brilliant. And he saw very clearly right away what this was. And even on the phone when I called him, he knew. He knew. And he said, I think she's been kidnapped for ransom. And I said, what? Well, why? What? And then, I mean, it sounds so, like, how dumb could I be? But I just. I didn't want to believe. I just said, do you think because of me? And I said, I'm sorry, sweetie. But. Yeah, maybe. But I knew that you did. I hope not. I don't know.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

Yeah.

[Savannah Guthrie]

That it's because she's my mom. And somebody thought, oh, that girl, that lady has money we can get. Make a quick buck. But yeah, that's probably. Which is too much to bear. To think that I brought this to her bedside. That it's because of me. And I just say, I'm so sorry, mommy. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry to my sister and my brother and my kids and my nephew and Tommy, my brother in law, just. I'm like, so sorry. I'm so sorry. If it is me, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.

[Narrator/Reporter]

At that point, Nancy Guthrie had been missing for nearly 24 hours. And as sear strange clues would begin to emerge. When we return, Savannah tells me about those disturbing ransom notes.

[Savannah Guthrie]

I think most of them, it's my understanding, are not real. But I believe the two notes that we received, that we responded to, I tend to believe those are real.

[Narrator/Reporter]

On the morning of February 2nd, America woke up to the unfathomable news

[Savannah Guthrie]

breaking overnight.

[LifeLock Narrator/Announcer]

Nancy Guthrie, Savannah's 84 year old mother, now at the center of a missing persons case.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Then the Pima county sheriff confirmed what Savannah and her family feared most. Their mother had been abducted.

[LifeLock Narrator/Announcer]

We believe now that we do in fact have A crime scene that we do in fact have a crime, and we're asking the community's help.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Two days later, Savannah and her siblings made their first public plea.

[Savannah Guthrie]

Our mom is our heart and our home. She is 84 years old. Her health, her heart is fragile. How is it possible that we are having to make a video speaking to a kidnapper who took an 84 year old woman in the dead of night, in her pajamas, with no shoes, without her medicine and to beg for mercy?

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

I remember you said, talk to her.

[Savannah Guthrie]

Talk to her.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

That's what you said.

[Savannah Guthrie]

I remember. She is a devoted friend. She is full of kindness and knowledge. Talk to her and you'll see. You're lucky to be in her company, even if for a moment see it.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Investigators put out a timeline. Nancy had been dropped off at home at about 9:50pm Saturday, Jan. 31. The next morning at 2:28am her pacemaker disconnected from an app on her cell phone, suggesting that that was around the time she was taken. In the days that followed, notes demanding payment were sent to media outlets.

[LifeLock Narrator/Announcer]

We are aware of a ransom letter that was sent to the local media and then to national outlets.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

The ransom notes or ransom requests came. A lot of people wondered, are those true? Did you believe those to be real?

[Savannah Guthrie]

There are a lot of different notes, I think, that came, and I think most of them, it's my understanding, are not real. You know, a person that would send a fake ransom note really has to look deeply at themselves.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

Yeah.

[Savannah Guthrie]

But I believe the two notes that we received that we responded to, I tend to believe those are real, really, which is why we responded. We received your message and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her.

[Narrator/Reporter]

No response came. But on day 10, the investigation made a leap forward.

[News Reporter]

Tonight, the first chilling images shedding light on what happened at Nancy Guthrie's house the night she was abducted.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Authorities were able to recover footage from Nancy's doorbell camera. Chilling images of a masked man trying to obscure the lens in his waistband. A gun.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

Tell me what you thought when you saw those images of the person who took your mother.

[Savannah Guthrie]

I mean, it's just absolutely terrifying.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

Yeah.

[Savannah Guthrie]

And I can't imagine that that is who she saw standing over her bed. I can't.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Investigators are gleaning every clue from that video that they can. The backpack is a model sold exclusively at Walmart. Forensic analysis suggests the man is between 5 foot 9 and 5 foot 10, with almond shaped eyes and facial hair for the family. The video also put a painful issue to rest.

[Savannah Guthrie]

And I'm glad and grateful to the investigators and the technology companies that were able to find that video to I hope at least with people of good heart and compassion, stop the irresponsible and cruel speculation that had started to swirl.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

Let's talk about that for a minute.

[Savannah Guthrie]

I'm glad that people saw. Yeah. What came to our door.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

When you talk about the cruel speculation, the whispers, the innuendo that it was somebody in your family, how did you and your siblings even weather that?

[Savannah Guthrie]

It's unbearable. And it piles pain upon pain. I don't understand. I'll never understand. Yeah, but we are not looking at those people. We are looking for the light. And my family, we are strong for her. And no one took better care of my mom than my sister and brother in law. And no one protected my mom more than my brother.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Leads poured in after the release of that video, but nothing so far has led to the masked man or to Nancy. The investigation continues with authorities asking neighbors for home security footage from both the time Nancy disappeared and to as far back as January 11, when it's possible a suspicious person appeared near the house. Something law enforcement and Google are trying to confirm. They're still working to determine the model of the gun the man was carrying, as well as attempting to analyze mixed and partial DNA from an unknown source found in the home. It has now been 55 days since Nancy vanished.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

A lot of people were frustrated, I think, with the investigation. How did your family feel about the way the investigation was conducted?

[Savannah Guthrie]

Well, it's still going. Yeah. And people have worked tirelessly. Tirelessly. And we see that. But we need answers. We cannot be at peace without knowing. We have to know. And someone knows.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

Someone knows. You're focusing on people in Tucson. Somebody there must have seen or known something and maybe forgot about it or didn't pay attention to it. Yeah, something, right?

[Savannah Guthrie]

How can someone vanish without a trace? How someone knows something, even if that something is someone's been acting strange for the last seven, eight weeks. Even if it's just that somebody knows.

[Narrator/Reporter]

When our conversation continues, Savannah shares stories about the woman at the center of it all. Her remarkable mother.

[Savannah Guthrie]

She wasn't one of those moms that, oh, my kid can do no wrong or everything you do is perfect. Therefore, like if she believes in you, you could take that to the bank.

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[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

You speak about your mom always in the present tense.

[Savannah Guthrie]

Yeah, I mean, she is present tense to me.

[Narrator/Reporter]

All of us who know Savannah know that her mother, Nancy, has always been her light and her role model.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

How about just tell me about your mommy?

[Savannah Guthrie]

Yeah, my mom is. She's incredible. She has that wisdom about her. She's funny and a little mischievous, I would say, in her humor, she does what's right. She walks in faith, but not a fake. Pious, put on faith, but like a grounded, earthy. She fought for it. Faith.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

Where did her faith come from?

[Savannah Guthrie]

She grew up in the church, and she grew up Catholic. But she really. She and my dad really had their

[LifeLock Narrator/Announcer]

own

[Savannah Guthrie]

experience, which we Baptists would have called a conversion experience. You know, when they were married and in their 20s and they had us three kids, Annie always used to say God was the sixth member of our family. And that's true.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

I mean, I was lucky enough to meet Nancy. We all were. What is the best part of being her daughter?

[Savannah Guthrie]

My mom is so strong and sure and resolute. She also is a truth teller, and she really doesn't suffer fools. And, you know, she wasn't one of those moms that, oh, my kid can do no wrong, or everything you do is perfect. And she therefore, like, if she believes in you, you could take that to the bank. And I used to say she's a noble creature. She would just scoff at that. Oh, please. No, I'm. No, I'm not, you know, but she is and she was. And I don't know whether to talk about her in present tense or past tense. I don't know. But I know where she is. You know, she's with God. Either way.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

Either way. Do you picture her in heaven? Do you have an image of what that looks like?

[Savannah Guthrie]

Yeah, I do imagine her. She used to say that she imagined that when you passed away, that on your first night in heaven, God would take you on a tour just for you and show you the universe. This is how I made this, and this is how I made that. And she really loved that thought because she was so curious, you know, she's such a journalist, you know, she of course was. Got her master's in journalism and was going to be a newspaper reporter when she was young, but then met my dad and they had a family.

[Narrator/Reporter]

And after Savannah's father died suddenly of a heart attack when she was just 16, her mom taught her the meaning of strength and resilience.

[Savannah Guthrie]

And I remember my mom saying in those early days when daddy died, like, you have to get up and decide and do, just decide and do. And she had read that in a book that meant a lot to her and her grief. And so I remember, I always remember that. So I'm trying to decide and do, decide and do. She showed us how to survive the unimaginable. When she lost my dad, she was 46 years old. She had three kids. She had never worked outside the home. She had to get up. She had to find a job. She had to mother two teenagers and one young adult just starting making his way into the world. I remember moments in my childhood and those days after my dad died. She was so strong. But some mornings fore dawned, she thought we were still sleeping. I would hear her crying at my door. To not be alone in her grief. She took care of her mother. Her brother who had down syndrome, she invited to come live with us. She worked part time. To make ends kind of meet. She stayed strong for us. She was resolute. She was real. So she taught me to be strong, but she taught me to be true. She showed me. Because no one ever learns anything by being told. You only learn by being shown. She showed us.

[Narrator/Reporter]

And next I asked Savannah how she's able right now to put the lessons from her mother into practice.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

How did you navigate that part of your life? How are you speaking to your kids?

[Savannah Guthrie]

We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

In the initial days, you and your sister and brother sat Together. In all the despair, you sat and managed to think of words to say, things to convey. Were you able to do that in that moment?

[Savannah Guthrie]

Well, my siblings are amazing, and we are a unit.

[Narrator/Reporter]

While Savannah and her siblings have experienced unspeakable anguish since their mother's abduction, their closeness has made them stronger.

[Savannah Guthrie]

I talked about how brilliant my brother is. This is Cameron Guthrie.

[LifeLock Narrator/Announcer]

I'm speaking for the Guthrie family.

[Savannah Guthrie]

My sister is equally brilliant and also has special powers of intuition and faith and language and depth and heart. Mama, if you're listening, we need you to come home. I mean, the first thing that I posted about it was for people to pray. And it's my sister Annie who said that to me. She said, savannah, I think you need to ask people to pray. And I haven't posted one thing or said one thing that the three of us haven't decided together.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

You were there. You were getting updates from law enforcement. But how were you passing the time? What were you doing during the days?

[Savannah Guthrie]

We had to move houses many times because people came and not everyone disrespectful. Unfortunately, there was a night we had to leave in the dark in the desert, holding hands. Me and my sister and brother and I get into a car waiting for us to. Because the people outside were closing in. So we found a place that was safe, and then we couldn't really leave too much. So those days are a blur. Yeah. Crying and praying.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

One of the images that stayed with me through all of this was you and Annie and Tommaso walking up and looking at the flowers and at the notes. The three of you, arm in arm in that moment, connected. I thought that was so beautiful. And at the same time as I saw that, I thought, I wonder if Savannah's going inside. And what that must have felt like for you to go inside of your childhood home, your mom's house?

[Savannah Guthrie]

Yeah. I mean, this is the house that we grew up in. It's really the only house I've ever known and remember. So we moved there when I was about 4. I think it's the house where all of our memories are good and bad. So it's hallowed ground.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Savannah's sister and brother in law live near the childhood home.

[Savannah Guthrie]

They were there every day for my mom. They made it possible for her to stay in the house we grew up in that she loved so much. So Annie and Tommy made that possible for her. They were close. I let her have her space. And there's just a way in which this is just even more excruciating for them. And all that they've been through.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

Tell me, while you were spending all this time in Tucson, your kids were home. How did you navigate that part of your life? How were you speaking to your kids? What did they know? What do they know?

[Savannah Guthrie]

Well, it's so hard with kids because, you know, you want to protect them.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

Yeah.

[Savannah Guthrie]

This is the longest I ever was away from my kids. I would never go for a trip, not for work, not for anything. And be gone so long. And I have so many beautiful friends that came and cared for them and lifted them and took their minds off things. And Dale would write me all the time. Mama. Any leads? Any leads? You hear? Anything, you know, any. Any hope? We tried to talk to them and try to give them a little more certainty than we have to let them grieve.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

Are they noticing that you're different, Your kids?

[Savannah Guthrie]

I think they do, yeah. Try not to be different, but also not doing them any favors by putting on some facade. Kids know.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

Yeah, they do.

[Savannah Guthrie]

And they'd be more disturbed by something that felt not real. But my kids are my joy. And they were my mom's joy.

[Narrator/Reporter]

A family leaning on each other, getting through one day at a time, relying on faith. Next, Savannah tells me how this ordeal has both solidified and challenged her faith.

[Savannah Guthrie]

God doesn't tell us not to wrestle with him. This isn't some cheap faith. This is real.

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[Narrator/Reporter]

The Guthrie family asked for prayers, and the response was overwhelming. At St. Philip's in the Hills Episcopal Church in Tucson, more than 400 people attended a candlelight vigilant to pray for Nancy's safe return.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

Did you wrestle with your faith throughout this? You're resolute and strong like your mama. But did you, at some point during all of this, have to wrestle with it?

[Savannah Guthrie]

Yes.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

Yeah.

[Savannah Guthrie]

And I'm not done. But God doesn't tell us not to wrestle with him. This isn't some cheap faith. This is real. And God doesn't ask us to be stoic. And my mom taught me that we are at an hour of desperation.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Even for a person immersed in faith. This has been a time of testing for Savannah, filled with questions and doubts. But once again, she is finding comfort in her mom's example.

[Savannah Guthrie]

One of my mom's best friend told me that she had been going through a hard time. And she said to my mom, nancy, how do you keep your faith? And my mom said to her, but where else would I go? Can I hold that with me? Where else would I go? No. But faith is how I will stay connected to my mom. God is how. I'm holding hands with my mom, and it's not easy. And I have cried out, where are you? Where are you? We may not get an answer. Some people don't.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Savannah knows her family is not unique in their despair.

[Savannah Guthrie]

We know there are millions of families that have suffered with this kind of uncertainty.

[Narrator/Reporter]

That's why, in addition to offering a $1 million reward for information about Nancy's disappearance, they also made a $500,000 donation to the national center for missing and exploited children.

[Savannah Guthrie]

Who are we to think that this broken world wouldn't touch us? Of course it will. And God is the only thing that makes it bearable. My mom could not bear to see this pain for her. She would say, oh, honey, don't worry about me. Don't worry about me.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

She would.

[Savannah Guthrie]

She would. But she couldn't stand to see us suffer. She could not bear to see our sadness. And I won't let sadness win for her. I saw her grief. I saw her world shatter. I saw it. And I saw her get up, and I saw her believe. And I saw her love. And I saw her smile. And I saw her laugh. I saw her joy. And I may not do it as well as her, but I will do it. I will do it for my kids. I will. I will not fall apart. I will not let whoever did this take my children's mother from them. I will not let them take my joy. They will not take my sister's joy. They will not take my brother's joy. They will not take our love. They will not take our faith. But our anguish is real. We need help. We need someone to tell the truth. Yes. I have no anger in my heart. I have hope in my heart. I have love. But this family needs peace. Someone needs to do the right thing. We are in agony. We are in agony. It is unbearable. And to think of what she went through. I wake up every night, in the middle of the night every night. And in the darkness, I imagine her terror. And it is unthinkable. But those thoughts demand to be thought, and I will not hide my face.

[Narrator/Reporter]

And when we return, Savannah tells me what the future might hold for her and her other family at the Today show.

[Savannah Guthrie]

I don't know if I can do it. I don't know if I'll belong anymore. But I would like to try. I would like to try.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

You know, it was a hard decision for you, and I know you told me about this was coming back here, leaving Arizona to come back to New York. Why was that so difficult, that choice?

[Savannah Guthrie]

I looked out the window, the airplane, that beautiful desert that she loves. Where are you? How could I leave you?

[Narrator/Reporter]

When Savannah came back to New York to her husband and children, she knew it meant facing her future. She also knew, knew she would draw strength from her second family, all of us at the Today show and NBC.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

One of the enduring images for me was walking into Studio 1A and seeing you there speaking to everybody. What was it like for you walking back in there?

[Savannah Guthrie]

I really wanted to come and see everybody.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

Yeah.

[Savannah Guthrie]

I just love this beautiful place that we call home where we get to come and be every day. I know how much people have prayed for me and loved me.

[LifeLock Narrator/Announcer]

Our thoughts and our prayers are with our dear friend and colleague and her family this morning.

[Savannah Guthrie]

She has been braver than I can even imagine. She has been so vulnerable.

[LifeLock Narrator/Announcer]

I just can't say enough incredible things about what an amazing spirit she is.

[Savannah Guthrie]

All the notes and messages that I have received are just so beautiful. I just wanted to be with my family. They're my family, too. And I wanted to just say that I love them and I felt them and their kindness is carrying me and that I'll be okay.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

You said something when you were there and you said, I don't know how to come back, and I don't know how not to come back. That Struck me.

[Savannah Guthrie]

Yeah, that's how I feel. To get to be the Today show and to have my dream come true was better than my dream. It was more than all I could ask or imagine.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

So how about coming back? I know everyone's wondering, so it's hard

[Savannah Guthrie]

to imagine doing it because it's such a place of joy and lightness. And I can't come back and try to be something that I'm not. But I can't not come back because it's my family. I think it's part of my purpose right now. And I think I can't collapse and I can't fall apart, though there are days that I want to, and there are days that I do. But I want to get up. I want to smile. And when I do, it will be real. I will have joy. My joy will be my answer. And being there is joyful. And when it's not, I'll say so. And I have been so grateful to have this family. I consider this my family, my greater family. And when times are hard, you want to be with your family, and I want to be with my family. And my sister says being who you are and being as authentic and as real as you are in this moment is what you should do. And it will be a relief. She said some people watch TV and think, why are those people so happy all the time?

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

Exactly.

[Savannah Guthrie]

Maybe it's a relief to just be who you are. And so I don't know if I can do it. I don't know if I'll belong anymore. But I would like to try. I would like to try.

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

Well, everybody's waiting for you, just so you know.

[Savannah Guthrie]

Well, I miss everybody, you know?

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

Yeah.

[Savannah Guthrie]

And it feels good to be with the people that you love. I plan to do my best and plan to tell the truth. And I'm not going to be the same. But maybe it's like that old poem, more beautiful in the broken places that you are. What it's for me to be hugging.

[Hoda Kotb]

And we've got some good news to share.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Savannah will return to the Today show

[Hoda Kotb]

on Monday, April 6th.

[Narrator/Reporter]

And while we are so looking forward

[Hoda Kotb]

to that date, our hearts are, as

[Interviewer (possibly Hoda Kotb)]

ever, with her and the entire Guthrie family.

[Hoda Kotb]

A reminder. If anybody has information on Nancy Guthrie's case, please call the number on your screen. The FBI's tip line. 1-800- call FBI. That's all for now. I'm Hoda Kotb. Thanks so much for joining us.

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