Former “Today” anchor Hoda Kotb returned to her former seat on Monday to fill in for Savannah Guthrie as the search for her mother Nancy extends into a second week, telling viewers that the journalist would want her TV family to keep the show afloat.
“Paramount through all of this, Savannah and her family are our top priority,” Kotb said. “In addition to that, there is also a job to do.”
She sat alongside co-hosts Craig Melvin, Carson Daly and Al Roker on Monday as they discussed trying to balance hosting a TV show while reporting on — and supporting — Guthrie as authorities search for her mother. Kotb previously anchored the show from 2018 to 2025.
“Our ‘Today’ family continues to navigate uncharted territory, balancing the updates on the search for Savannah’s mom with all the other stories of the day, like we normally do,” Melvin said. “But we know things are far from normal right now, so folks, we are asking for your grace as we continue to do this.”
Roker concurred, adding, “We’re able to do this because we know that’s exactly what Savannah would actually want us to do.”
Kotb’s return came days after Guthrie and her siblings published a new video and said they had received a message from Nancy’s alleged captors.
“We received your message, and we understand,” Guthrie said in a Saturday evening Instagram post alongside her siblings Annie and Camron. “We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”
Authorities spent the weekend conducting new searches at Nancy Guthrie and Annie Guthrie’s Arizona homes to see if there was any evidence they missed. Officials also searched a local Circle K gas station for a suspected vehicle of interest, NBC News reporter Tom Winter said on Monday’s “Today,” but no suspect or person of interest has been identified.
“I think there’s a focus of, ‘Let’s just start at the very beginning and see if there’s anything here that we can drive from it,’” Winter noted.
