Olympic co-anchor candidates publicly supported Savannah Guthrie after she declined to co-host the opening ceremony in Italy due to her mother’s disappearance.
Terry Gannon and Guthrie’s fill-in, Mary Carrillo, confirmed during a televised broadcast on Friday that she was absent from the ceremony in Milan.
“We’re certainly missing some very important and beloved members of our team tonight,” Gannon said. “She will be missed by everyone.”
Carrillo told NBC that Savannah has become a “big family” amid a frantic search for her mother, Nancy Guthrie.
“She has covered so many Olympics and she loves them,” Carrillo said. “Right now, of course, Savannah and her family are in indescribable and immeasurable pain. We know that she has many relatives in the United States, and the same is true here, my friend Savannah.”
“Tonight, we send all of our love, prayers and positive energy to Savannah,” Gannon chimed in. The duo was also joined by Olympic gold medalist Shaun White.
Savannah was also scheduled to tape an episode of “Today” with former co-anchor Hoda Kotb, who revealed her “feeling of helplessness” on Friday’s episode.
“We’re all very close to her and want to help her,” Kotub said, adding that Savannah has “(always) been there” for the “family” on the “Today” show.
Co-host Cragg Melvin countered, “We’re not powerless because it’s prayer and hope. It’s prayer and hope. Prayer and hope.”
Kotb also later withdrew from the Olympics as the search for Savannah’s mother continued.
Nancy, 84, was last seen at her home in Tucson, Arizona, Saturday night after a family outing. The next morning, she did not show up at church and disappeared.
Tracy Walder, an FBI special agent and former CIA employee, told Page Six that the Guthrie matriarch had likely been “stalked for some time” before her disappearance and that authorities believe it was a kidnapping.
Meanwhile, TMZ founder Harvey Levin told CNN on Thursday that investigators “widened their focus around Tucson” after receiving a purported ransom note demanding billions in Bitcoin in the case, but Walder said he doesn’t necessarily believe money is behind the motive.
“My gut feeling is that this was someone who had some sort of obsession with Savannah because of her high profile, and that this was a way to get closer to her.”, he said, noting that it was also possible that he was “someone who had some type of relationship” with the journalist.
Two days ago, Savannah, her brother Camron Guthrie and sister Annie Guthrie issued an emotional appeal on social media demanding “proof of life” from Nancy’s captors.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI have since announced a $50,000 reward for “information leading to the recovery of Nancy Guthrie and/or the arrest and conviction of those involved in her disappearance.”
Amid increased security at NBC’s New York City studios, Today with Jenna & Shaynell co-host Shaynel Jones revealed her team was “shaken up” by the disappearance.
