Savannah Guthrie tearfully spoke on Tuesday’s “Today” show about the ransom note her family received in February for the alleged death of her missing mother, Nancy Guthrie.
The NBC personality broke down in tears as she told her co-hosts that she couldn’t “pretend” she wasn’t present at the conversation, even though she had “no comment” on the headlines and “was not involved in…the reporting” about her mother’s kidnapping.
“What we’re sitting here is unusual and unprecedented, to say the least,” Guthrie said after reporter Liz Kreutz broke the news.
“So I just wanted to take this opportunity to really ask people some serious questions and really implore people to come forward because they know something,” Guthrie continued.
“This is the news story that’s getting your attention today, but this is what my sister (Annie Guthrie) is alive, this is what I’m alive, this is what my brother (Camron Guthrie) is alive, this is what our extended family is alive, this is what our children are alive every day,” she explained.
The emotional section added that Savannah, 54, and her family are “suffering.”
“We cannot be at peace,” said the journalist. “No matter how hard I try to come out here every day and smile and find that joy, and I will, I promise I will, this is the moment to say we need your help. … I’m not going to pass up that opportunity.”
Savannah, flanked by colleagues Craig Melvin, Al Roker, Carson Daly and Jenna Bush Hager, concluded: “There is a reward, no matter how small. Please tell me, even anonymously. Do the right thing.”
She promised, “We love our mom and we will never stop searching for her. Always.”
Melvin, 47, spoke out to give the Guthrie family a “little bit of peace” by letting the public know where to contact the FBI.
Additionally, he told Savannah, “The courage and bravery that you have shown to do this job every single day since this happened is nothing short of amazing.”
Savannah briefly took a leave of absence from Studio 1A after her mother was reported missing from her Arizona home on February 1st, returning to work in April while the search continued.
Sources close to the investigation told Airmail over the weekend that a seemingly credible ransom note described the 84-year-old woman as “safe but scared” hours after she disappeared and demanded $6 million in Bitcoin.
This message was widely reported at the time, unlike a second message from the same IP address a few days later stating that Nancy had passed away.
The agency claimed on Saturday that the memo appeared to offer to return Nancy’s body for ransom payment, but officials insisted to NBC on Tuesday that the person “made no demands for more money.”
Savannah told Hoda Kotb in March that she was “inclined to believe” that two notes to which she and her brother “responded” with emotional pleas on social media were actually “real.”
She charged that “most” of the ransom notes she received were not legitimate, and said, “Those who send fake ransom notes need to take a deep look at themselves.”
Authorities have not yet arrested or charged anyone involved in the kidnapping, but they have detained Derrick Cajera on suspicion of attempting to extort with a fake ransom text. The 42-year-old is facing federal charges.
