Savannah Guthrie wept as she greeted fans on “Today” on her first day back since Nancy’s disappearance.
During Monday’s episode, the Arizona native walked out holding hands with Jenna Bush Hager as the cheering crowd, who was wearing yellow ribbons, cheered.
“We’re back at 8:30 on this beautiful Monday morning, and it’s a special Monday morning for us and for this crowd, because we welcome the return of the North Star,” said Craig Melvin, who attended with Carson Daly, Al Roker and Sheinelle Jones.
“Now get out of here! Get out of here now!” he added.
Many fans held up placards that read “Welcome Home Savannah,” and some shed tears as she joined her co-hosts.
“These signs are so beautiful,” Savannah said, wiping her tears with Roker’s handkerchief. “You all have been so amazing. I have received so many letters, so many kind feelings for me and my whole family. We feel it, we feel your prayers, thank you!”
Furthermore, while holding back tears, he expressed his gratitude to the fans who were standing nearby wearing a yellow sweater with “Welcome Back Savannah.”
Just before stepping out with Bush Hager, Page Six captured Savannah sharing a sweet moment with him.
The latter apparently said some touching words to her best friend, which brought her to tears.
The pair even shared a tight hug for a sweet moment before Savannah smiled and walked out of Studio 1A at Rockefeller Plaza in New York City.
Early in the morning, Savannah took her rightful seat at the Today programming desk and greeted viewers: “Good morning. Welcome to Today this morning. I’m so happy to be starting your week with us. I’m so happy to be home.”
Melvin agreed, saying, “I’m glad she’s back,” before adding, “Ready or not, let’s go! Let’s report the news.”
Her long-awaited return to the talk show came two months after her mother, Nancy, was reported missing from her home in Arizona.
The incident also comes two weeks after Savannah’s emotional revealing interview with former co-host Hoda Kotb, in which she shared heartbreaking details about Nancy’s disappearance, including how she first learned of the shocking news.
“My sister called me and said, ‘Are you okay?’ And she said, ‘No. “She said, ‘Mommy’s gone,'” Savannah recalled. “So I said, ‘What? What are you talking about?’ She said, ‘He’s gone.'”
The journalist also revealed details of the crime scene that were previously unknown to the public. “The door had been thrown open, there was blood on the doorway, and the Ring camera had been torn off.”
She explained that the family initially thought that “[Nancy]must have had some sort of medical event during the night and that somehow the paramedics had come.”
“I thought maybe they came and they took her from behind because there was a stretcher,” Savannah said. “But her phone, wallet and all her belongings were there.”
Elsewhere in the tearful interview, Savannah heartbreakingly revealed that she was responsible for her mother’s disappearance.
The lawyer’s brother, Camron Guthrie, first advanced the theory that their mother had been kidnapped for ransom.
“He spent his career in the military, worked in the intelligence community, was a fighter pilot, was brilliant, and had a clear understanding of what this was all about right away,” Savannah explained.
When she asked her brother if her assailant did this because he was famous, Kamron replied, “I’m sorry, but maybe that’s the case.”
Although Savannah could not say for sure whether she believed her mother was still alive, she said she was comforted by the sacred moments she had with God early in the search.
“I heard God speak to me as I said to myself, ‘God, everything is okay, I’m okay with everything. I can’t stand what I don’t know. We can’t handle what we don’t know. I have to know,'” Savannah recalled.
“Then I heard a voice saying, ‘You know where she is. She’s with me. She’s with me,'” she continued. “So whether she’s still on this earth or in heaven, I know where she is. I know who she’s with, but we need to know that.”
Towards the end of the interview, Savannah again begged for her mother’s return.
“Someone has to do the right thing,” she cried. “We are suffering.”
The 84-year-old was reported missing from her home in Tucson on February 1 after failing to attend a virtual church service.
Several people were detained during the investigation, but were later released after it was proven that they had nothing to do with Nancy’s disappearance.
