Hoda Kotb Praises Savannah Guthrie’s ‘Strength’ for Returning to ‘Today’ Show After Mom Nancy’s Disappearance

Hoda Kotb has praised "Today" host Savannah Guthrie's "strength" for choosing to return to her on-air role even as the search for her missing mother, Nancy Guthrie, remains ongoing.

Kotb, 61, has spent the last week filling in for Guthrie's usual co-anchor, Craig Melvin, who is on vacation—with the mother of two leaving behind her suburban life to return to the air for her second stint in a matter of weeks. She previously stood in for Guthrie for an entire month while the latter was in Arizona assisting with the investigation into her 84-year-old mother's disappearance.

Guthrie officially returned to "Today" on April 6—and one week later, had an on-air reunion with Kotb, who officially stepped down from her full-time role on the show in January 2025.

Speaking to People magazine, Kotb opened up about what it has been like to rejoin Guthrie behind the "Today" desk, praising her co-host's bravery and admitting that she feels grateful to have been able to "hold her hand" during her return to the show.

“Just sitting next to her. That's it. It's been really beautiful and I feel privileged to be able to sit there for a little while," she said.

Kotb added, "I feel like I get to be in the seat to watch what strength looks like. There's nobody like her.”

It comes just a couple of weeks after Guthrie sat down with Kotb for her first on-air interview since her mother's disappearance, admitting in the candid chat that she was wracked with guilt over the 84-year-old's abduction because she feared it had happened as a result of her fame.

Guthrie revealed that it was her brother, Cameron, who was the first to suggest to her that their mother might have been kidnapped in a ransom attempt.

"Even on the phone when I called him, he knew," she said. "He said, ‘I think she’s been kidnapped for ransom.’ And I said, ‘What? Well, why? What?’

"It sounds so, like, how dumb could I be? But I just—I didn’t wanna believe. I just said, ‘Do you think because of me?’ And he said, ‘I’m sorry, sweetie, but yeah, maybe.’ But I knew that."

Breaking down in tears, Savannah issued a heartbreaking apology to her mother for any part her career may have played in her abduction, saying: "I’d just say, ‘I’m so sorry, Mommy. I’m so sorry.’ I’m sorry to my sister and my brother and my kids and my nephew and Tommy, my brother-in-law.

"If it is me, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry."

On the day of Guthrie's return to the "Today" show, entertainment outlet TMZ revealed that it had received two new messages from an unknown sender who claimed to have significant information regarding the whereabouts of the missing 84-year-old's body, as well as details about those responsible for her capture.

Nancy has been missing for more than two months, having last been seen outside her Arizona home on Jan. 31—several hours before investigators believe she was forcibly removed from her property in the early hours of Feb. 1.

Since her disappearance was made public, multiple ransom notes have been sent to different news outlets, including the two latest messages, which TMZ founder Harvey Levin revealed were received on April 6, the same day that Guthrie, 54, returned to the "Today" show for the first time since her mother went missing.

Discussing the notes in a live broadcast that same day, Levin shared some details about the information included in the notes—which have not yet been verified by the authorities—revealing that the sender had not only alleged that Nancy is dead, but also claimed to know where her body is.

The person responsible for the notes offered to share that information in return for payment in Bitcoin, but they are not thought to have shared any evidence that verifies their claims.

"We got another letter today from this person, an email saying, ‘I know where her body is, and who the kidnapper is, give me half a Bitcoin and I’ll tell you,'" Levin said.

A second note was then sent to the outlet by the same person, who then alleged that they had seen Nancy in Mexico, near the Arizona border.

"I saw her alive with them in the state of Sonora Mexico," the note read.

According to former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer, the messages were likely intended to "torture" Nancy's family, with the expert telling Newsweek: "They sent these right when Savannah Guthrie went back to work. That was by no mistake, that was absolutely meant to further torment her and her family.

"I think it speaks to the fact that there is at least someone out there that is still willing to torture this family by sending these continued communications with no proof of life."

She added that she does not believe the person sending the messages actually has legitimate information—noting that they are only asking for half a Bitcoin, which would currently be worth around $35,000, despite Nancy's family offering a $1 million reward to anyone who provides details that help them to find the 84-year-old or identify her captors.

"The reason this makes sense to me, that they don’t have that knowledge, is because they’re not seeking the $1 million. Instead, they’re trying to subvert it with this … quickly paid, no hoops to jump through, just get the money. But I think that these people are scammers," she noted.

While Levin said that his outlet has reported the notes to the FBI, the authorities have yet to issue a comment on the latest messages, which come more than two months after Nancy disappeared.

Guthrie returned to the "Today" show on April 6, two months after her 84-year-old mom was abducted from her Arizona home.

The 54-year-old broadcaster had been been absent from the morning show since her mom was taken from her Tucson, AZ, home on Feb. 1.

"It is good to be home. Here we go, ready or not—let’s do the news," Guthrie said at the beginning of her first show back.

Little new information has been revealed about Nancy's disappearance in recent weeks—although the Pima County Sheriff's Department revealed this week that it has increased patrols in the 84-year-old's neighborhood in a bid to deter social media influencers from trying to gain access to her home.

"The sheriff recently told residents in the Guthrie neighborhood during a meeting that there have been increased patrols in the area in response to complaints about streamers and citizen journalists possibly trespassing," a spokesperson for the department said in a statement.

Additional officers have also been dispatched to keep watch over the area in which Nancy's other daughter, Annie Guthrie, lives with her husband, Tommaso Cioni, the spokesperson added.