Savannah Guthrie on the Moment she Learned Mom was Missing

Savannah Guthrie opened up with deep emotion as she recounted the moment she learned her mother was missing. During a heartfelt interview with her NBC coworker Hoda Kotb, Savannah explains in detail he moment her world shifted, setting off a search not only for answers but also for strength amid uncertainty.

She recounted to Hoda how on Feb. 1 her mother had gone missing. Her husband, Mike Feldman, had just returned from a guys’ trip to play tennis that she had gotten him for Christmas, while she and her two children were back home after spending time with Today co-host Carson Daly and his family.

Savannah: “And my sister called me. I said, ‘Is everything OK?’ And she said, ‘No.’ She said, ‘Mom’s missing,’” Savannah said. “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.’”

Family calls 911

Savannah’s sister, Annie, had already called 911, and the police had arrived at Nancy’s home.

Savannah: “We thought that she must have had some kind of medical episode in the night, and that somehow the paramedics had come because the back doors (of Nancy’s home) were propped open, and that didn’t make any sense…We thought maybe they came and there was a stretcher, and they took her out the back. But her phone was there and her purse was there and all her things. And it just didn’t make any sense.”

Savannah on the moment she learned her mom was missing

Annie and her husband, Tommaso, called around all the local hospitals, and Savannah did the same.

“So then I started calling the hospitals, and the police were there and talking to (Annie) at the same time, and it was just chaos and disbelief,” Savannah said.

Savannah took a flight to Tucson

Savannah quickly made arrangements to travel to Tucson to be with her family. Once there, she joined her siblings, Annie and Camron, as they worked together to understand what might have happened to their mother, Nancy. She explained that they made it clear to Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos that this was not a situation involving an elderly woman with dementia who had simply wandered away.

Savannah: “Just disbelief and hugging each other…And I think we were on the phone with the sheriff and trying to really make clear — from the very early moments, Annie and Tommy were saying, ‘This isn’t that case that you are used to where someone wanders off. She can’t wander off.’”

Savannah: “My mom, she was in tremendous pain,” Savannah said. “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 wasn’t a 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 OK. Something is very wrong here.’”

Savannah talks about the day she left Arizona

On Feb. 10, the FBI released images from Nancy’s doorbell camera of an armed and masked man seen at her home the night she disappeared. Authorities have been working to identify the person since.

The search for Nancy has now stretched into its eighth week. The Guthrie family is offering a $1 million reward for her return. The FBI is also offering a $100,000 reward and encouraging anyone with information to call 1-800-CALL-FBI.

The Masked Man on camera

Ten days after she was reported missing, the FBI released surveillance footage, noting that it had been recovered with the help of private sector partners. The video shows a man approaching the door and appearing to interfere with the camera.

In her conversation with Hoda, Savannah reflected on the first time she saw the footage, describing it as deeply unsettling. “It’s absolutely terrifying,” she said. “I can’t imagine that being the person she saw standing over her bed.”

“I wake up every night in the middle of the night,” Savannah said. “And in the darkness, I imagine her terror. And it is unthinkable, but those thoughts demand to be thought.”

She added that she was thankful the footage had been recovered, especially after investigators initially determined that the doorbell camera had been disconnected at 1:47 a.m. on the night Nancy disappeared.

“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,” Savannah said.

The video Savannah filmed with her siblings directed to the person who may have taken her mom

One of the most emotional moments for Savannah and her two siblings in the days following Nancy’s disappearance came when they recorded a video shared on Instagram on February 4. In the clip, the three expressed their gratitude for the outpouring of prayers and support, while also speaking directly to the person who may have taken their mother.

“It is surreal. 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?” Savannah said. “This little person. And to beg for mercy.”

“My siblings are amazing. And we are a unit,” Savannah said.

“I feel like we came together with all these beautiful gifts that came from our mom and dad and from God,” she added. “And somehow, together, we did our best to come up with the words to say.”

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