Savannah Guthrie sat down for her first interview since her mother Nancy Guthrie went missing nearly two months ago, breaking down in tears as she detailed the Arizona investigation to her “Today” fill-in Hoda Kotb.
In Thursday’s two-part interview, the NBC anchor recalled the moment she learned her mom had disappeared, praised her family for working together to contact her alleged captors and gave her reaction to how authorities are handling the case in Tucson. She also cried over the possibility that it was her fame that made her mother a target, saying, “Honestly, we don’t know anything.”
“I don’t know that it’s because she’s my mom and somebody thought, ‘Oh, that girl, that lady has money. We can make a quick buck.’ I mean, that would make sense,” Savannah shared. “We don’t know, 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.”
Savannah also explained her painful decision to leave Arizona after searching for Nancy following her early morning abduction on Feb. 1.
“It’s still going. People have worked tirelessly, tirelessly. And we see that, but we need answers,” she continued. “We cannot be at peace without knowing, and someone can do the right thing. And it is never too late to do the right thing and our hearts are focused on that.”
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI are both leading the investigation. Savannah has offered a $1 million reward in addition to the FBI’s $100,000 reward for information that leads to her recovery.
Part 3 of Savannah’s interview is set to air on Friday. NBC has stated they expect her to return to the “Today” anchor desk eventually, but no timeline has been set.
