Savannah Guthrie has returned to the "Today" show, appearing on air Tuesday, September 8, after a two-week absence. She joined co-host Craig Melvin, dressed in a denim dress, and appeared to be in good spirits.
"Look who’s back, Savannah Guthrie, we missed you," Melvin said upon her return.
Guthrie's absence from the show began in late August. During this period, she attended the US Open Exhibition Match in New York City with her husband, Michael Feldman. This marked her first red carpet appearance since the disappearance of her mother, Nancy Guthrie, 84.
Nancy Guthrie was last seen at her home in Tucson, Arizona, on January 31 and is believed to have been abducted. Savannah Guthrie had taken a break from "Today" for the initial months of the search, returning to her role in April. She also took time off from late July to early August to film the upcoming game show adaptation of the popular word game Wordle.
In March, Guthrie spoke emotionally with co-host Hoda Kotb about her mother's disappearance and the pain it has caused her family. She shared that she, her brother Camron, and her sister Annie did not know what triggered Nancy's February 1 abduction from her home. Guthrie expressed anguish at the thought that her public profile might have contributed to the event.
"I don't know that it's because she's my mom and somebody thought, 'Oh that girl, that lady has money, we could make a quick buck,'" she said. "[It's] too much to bear to think that I brought this to her bedside, that it's because of me. I just have to say, 'I'm so sorry, mommy. I'm so sorry.' I'm sorry to my sister and my brother and my kids ... I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."
Guthrie also addressed speculation about her brother-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, being involved in her mother's abduction, calling it "unbearable" and stating that "no one took better care of my mom than my sister and brother-in-law." She described her mother as "our shining light" and "our matriarch."
An August report by The Wall Street Journal claimed that investigators initially paid little attention to dried blood found on the front porch of Nancy Guthrie's home, dismissing it as a possible injury. This blood was later confirmed to be Nancy's and is now believed to be connected to the kidnapping. The report also noted that the back door of the home was found propped open when Nancy's daughter Annie first searched the house for her mother.