“TODAY” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie visited the NBC morning show’s set Thursday as the investigation into her 84-year-old mother’s disappearance stretched into a 32nd day.
“Savannah Guthrie stopped by the studio this morning to be with and thank her ‘TODAY’ colleagues,” a “TODAY” spokesperson said in a statement.
“While she plans to return to the show on air, she remains focused right now supporting her family and working to help bring Nancy home,” the spokesperson added.
Guthrie was reported missing Feb. 1 after she didn’t show up at a friend’s home in Tucson to watch an online church service. She was last seen the previous night around 9:45 p.m. after having dinner at her daughter Annie Guthrie’s home.
Authorities have described the case as a possible kidnapping or abduction, but clues have been scarce.
“TODAY” co-anchor Jenna Bush Hager fought back tears on air as she addressed Savannah Guthrie’s visit to the “TODAY” studio.
“She said that she has the intention to return to the show, even though it feels like the hardest thing to do, it’s also her home and where she feels so loved,” Bush Hager said.
Sheinelle Jones, Bush Hager’s co-host for the third hour of “TODAY,” said “we’re not out of the storm, but there’s a light somewhere even in the midst of the storm.”
“I think her coming here and just being able to be with us, and for us to be able to hug her, I think it’s a step,” Jones said.
Jones said she hugged Savannah Guthrie and told her: “Whenever you are ready, we are here.”
The Guthrie family is offering a $1 million reward for Guthrie’s recovery.
In announcing that reward Feb. 24, Savannah Guthrie said that while her family believes her mother “can come home,” they also “know that she may be lost” and may “already be gone.”
The FBI recovered doorbell camera images of an armed and masked man outside Guthrie’s home on the morning of her disappearance. Investigators have since described that person as a suspect, but he has not been publicly identified.
The FBI has said it is looking for a male who is 5 feet 9 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall, with an average build. In the doorbell camera images, he wore a black, 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack.