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Hoda Kotb returned to her role on the “Today” show as Savannah Guthrie remains absent due to the disappearance of her mother, Nancy Guthrie.
After departing NBC in January 2025 following a 26-year tenure, Kotb stepped in for Guthrie on Monday morning.
Craig Melvin addressed viewers, explaining, “Hoda is with us today while Savannah stays with her family in Arizona.” He expressed his gratitude for Kotb’s presence by placing a comforting hand on her arm.
“You know, Craig,” Kotb, 61, responded, “we often describe our show as a family, and that’s exactly what we are. I’m happy to be here with you because we support each other.”
“So, let’s dive in!” she concluded with enthusiasm.
Later in the show, Melvin, 46, opened up about their struggles to “navigate” their close friend’s family crisis.
“Hoda is joining us this morning as our ‘Today’ family continues to navigate uncharted territory, balancing the updates and search to Savannah’s mom with all the other stories of the day like we normally do — but we know things are far from normal,” Melvin explained.
He asked fans for “grace as [they] continue to do this,” more than one week since Nancy was reported missing from her Tucson, Ariz., home.
Kotb, who returned to the “Today” show last week for an emotional segment, added, “Paramount through all of this, Savannah and her family are top priority. In addition to that, there is also a job to do.”
Carson Daly, putting a hand on Kotb’s shoulder, said, “We’re going to do our best and certainly it’s not easy to do our jobs. We’re doing that, obviously, for her.”
Al Roker, for his part, noted, “We’re able to do this because we know that’s exactly what Savannah would want us to do .”
When Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones joined their co-hosts, the former said, “All of us continue to keep Savannah and her family in our hearts and in our prayers.”
She and Jones, 47, highlighted “sweet messages of support” for Nancy and her loved ones.
The 84-year-old was last seen on the evening of Jan. 31 and is believed to have been kidnapped.
As the desperate search for the matriarch intensifies, Savannah and her siblings — Annie Guthrie and Camron Guthrie — have appealed to Nancy’s potential abductors in multiple emotional videos.
“We will pay,” Savannah, who pulled out of hosting the ongoing Winter Olympics, promised in their latest plea in response to purported ransom notes requesting $6 million in bitcoin.
No suspects have been named, with Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos saying in a press conference Thursday they are “actively looking at everybody.”
The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for “information leading to the recovery of Nancy Guthrie and/or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance.”