Savannah Guthrie’s first television interview about the disappearance of her mother, Nancy, aired in two parts on NBC’s “Today,” with a tearful Guthrie telling former co-host Hoda Kotb on Thursday that she can’t help but blame herself.
After the initial shock of her mother’s abduction, which made headlines on February 1 after her mother skipped her usual Sunday service, Guthrie detailed her understanding that her assailant may have been motivated by her mother’s money. She recalled a phone conversation with her brother, Camron, and asked, “Do you think it’s my fault?”
“He said, ‘Well, I’m sorry, but maybe it is.’ But I knew that,” Guthrie continued. “I hope not. I mean, we don’t know yet. To be honest, we don’t know anything. So I don’t know if it’s because she’s my mom and somebody thought, ‘Oh, that woman has money, we can make money quickly.'” I mean, that makes sense, but we don’t know. ”
Mr Guthrie accepted that this was “probably” the case and said it was “unbearable”.
“I couldn’t believe it was my fault that I brought this to her bedside,” Guthrie said, as she and Kotb broke down in tears. “And I just have to say, I’m so sorry, Mom. I’m so sorry. My sister and my brother and my kids and my nephew and my brother-in-law, Tommy. I’m so sorry. If it were me, I’d be so sorry.”
“Today” announced Wednesday that Guthrie will appear on its morning show in her first television interview about her mother’s disappearance. Guthrie is taking an extended leave of absence from his duties as “Today” anchor amid the ordeal.
“Somebody’s got to do the right thing. We’re suffering. We can’t stand it,” a tearful Guthrie told Kotb in a clip of the interview released earlier. “And I think about what she went through. Every night I wake up in the middle of the night and imagine her fear in the dark. It’s unthinkable, but that thought needs to be thought about. I won’t hide my face. She needs to go home now.”
After Nancy was reported missing on February 1st, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department announced that they had discovered significant evidence at Nancy’s home in Tucson, Arizona, and that their disappearance was presumed to be a kidnapping. The FBI also joined the search for Nancy and offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to her recovery. The amount was later increased to $200,000, and then to $1 million on February 24th.
On February 10, the FBI recovered footage from the destroyed Ring doorbell camera at Nancy’s home, showing the only person involved in the incident. The video shows a “male of average build, approximately 5’9″ to 5’10” tall, armed and carrying a hiking backpack approaching Nancy’s front door. After the video was released, the FBI announced that it had received more than 13,000 tips about Nancy, but no arrests had been made.
In an interview with Kotb, Guthrie said he was relieved that the footage of the ring had been released, putting an end to conspiracy theories implicating members of his family. “I’m glad people are seeing what arrived on our doorstep,” she said, calling the rumors swirling “unbearable.”
“Pain upon pain. There are no words. I don’t understand and I never will,” she continued. “No one cared for my mother more than my sister and brother-in-law. No one protected her more than my brother. And we love her. She is our shining light and the matriarch of our family. She is everything to us.”
In the weeks following his mother’s disappearance, Guthrie used his social media accounts to post videos pleading with his mother’s kidnappers to return her safely. Guthrie told “Today” that he believes the two ransom letters he and his brother responded to in social media videos are genuine.
Asked about the current status of the investigation on “Today,” Guthrie told Kotb, “Well, the investigation is still ongoing. And people have been working tirelessly and we’ve seen that. But we need answers. You can’t feel safe if you don’t know. And somebody can do the right thing, and it’s never too late to do the right thing. And our hearts are focused on that.”
In a subsequent interview, Guthrie said he felt his mother was now with God.
“Early on, I felt and heard, one of the few times in my life, that I did hear God speaking to me,” she said. “I said to myself, ‘God, I’m okay with everything. I’m okay with everything. I can’t stand not knowing. We can’t stand not knowing. I have to know.’ And I heard a voice, and it said, ‘You know where she is, she’s with me.’ She’s with me.’ ‘So whether she’s still here on earth or in heaven, I know where she is and who she’s with. ”
