What you need to know
Savannah Guthrie and her siblings are searching for their mother Nancy after she disappears.
The Today co-host was raised in Tucson, Arizona by his parents, Charles and Nancy Guthrie. Savannah grew up with her older brother Camron and younger sister Annie.
On February 1st, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department (PCSD) began an emergency search for her mother, Nancy, 84, who disappeared on January 31st. Savannah was absent from the Today show that morning, and her co-anchor read statements from the host and her brother.
“On behalf of my family, I would like to thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers, and messages of support,” it read. “Right now, our focus remains on the safe return of our beloved mother. We appreciate the hard work of law enforcement on this case and encourage anyone with information to contact the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900.”
At a February 2nd press conference, PCSD confirmed that Nancy’s home is currently being investigated as a “crime scene” rather than a “search mission.” Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said in a statement shared with PEOPLE that investigators believe she may have been abducted “in the middle of the night.”
Here’s everything you need to know about Savannah Guthrie’s family, including her late father and two brothers.
her father was a mining engineer
Savannah Guthrie/Instagram
Charles worked as a mining engineer in Australia, but when Savannah was young, he and his wife Nancy brought their family to Arizona.
In June 2014, in an essay she wrote for Today magazine in honor of Father’s Day, Savannah reflected on her late father, who died of a sudden heart attack in 1988.
“My father was a man of seemingly unlikely qualities: always strong, sometimes fearful, loyal to the end, and in times of need, disarmingly kind and gentle,” she wrote. “He was also tall, affectionate, funny, and had a personality that people described as ‘lighting up a room.'”
Savannah continued: “He was like a 5,000-watt light bulb who could turn an ordinary trip to the post office into a riotous story. People adored him and were drawn to him.”
The broadcast journalist went on to say that the quality she “appreciates the most” is his “honesty.”
“He had an unwavering concept of right and wrong,” she added. “His moral clarity was demanding and at times overbearing, but in the moments when you needed it most and least expected it, he tempered it with kindness and mercy.”
Charles’ death brings Savannah closer to her mother and siblings
Savannah Guthrie/Instagram
In an October 2017 Today show segment that also featured Annie, Savannah said that after losing her father, her family “clung to each other for the rest of our lives.”
“It was a huge shock,” she said. “We were just trying to figure out how to become a family of four when we’ve always been a family of five.”
She also reflected on how her father’s death changed her life during an appearance on Hoda Kotb’s Making Space podcast in February 2024, according to Today.
“I know it changed me and probably changed the whole trajectory of my life,” she said. “I often think that if my father had been alive, things would have been very different for me. I don’t know if I would have chosen this career. I don’t know if I would have left home. I might have stayed in my hometown.”
Savannah added, “I know that fundamentally it changed everything. And some things changed for the better. I know that in some ways, my heart became kinder because of it.”
Camron was in the Air Force.
Savannah Guthrie/Instagram
Camron is a former Air National Guard pilot. In a Today segment in July 2012, he and Savannah flew in an F-16 aircraft.
In August 2018, Savannah, Annie, and other family members celebrated Camron’s retirement by witnessing his final flight as an F-16 pilot. The Today host shared a photo from the moment on Instagram, writing: “I’ve never been more proud of my brother.”
She added, “He has flown for our country for 26 years and continues to proudly serve in the Vermont Air National Guard, the Green Mountain Boys. He is the pride of our family and one of our country’s finest. #Applause.”
Annie is a writer and jeweler
Savannah Guthrie/Instagram
A graduate of the University of Arizona and Warren Wilson College, Annie is also a writer and jeweler, according to her biography on the Arizona Arts Commission.
She also teaches creative writing courses at the University of Arizona Poetry Center, has written books on jewelry making techniques, and has had her work published in several magazines.
