Hoda Kotb Breaks Down in Tears While Discussing Disappearance of Savannah Guthrie’s Mom Nancy in ‘Today’ Show Return

Hoda Kotb was reduced to tears Friday while opening up about the disappearance of her friend and former costar Savannah Guthrie's mother, Nancy, during a return to the "Today" show.

Kotb, 61, who officially stepped down as a "Today" host in January, appeared alongside Craig Melvin, Carson Daly, and Sheinelle Jones during a segment dedicated to the search for Savannah's missing mom—admitting to viewers that she feels completely "helpless."

Breaking down in tears, the mother of two went on to praise Savannah, 54, for the unwavering support she has shown her colleagues during their darkest hours, including when her own daughter, Hope, was hospitalized in early 2023.

"We’re all so close with her, and we all want to help her," Kotb said. "I’m looking at us and I was thinking, who was first in the hospital when Hope was sick? Savannah. Who hopped on a plane for Carson’s parents? Savannah."

She added that Savannah was also the one "sitting by" Jones' side during her late husband, Uche Ojeh's, cancer battle.

Melvin agreed with Kotb's feeling of "helplessness," but noted that they can all support the efforts to find Nancy by lending hope and prayer to the Guthrie family.

"We’re not helpless because it’s prayer and hope. Prayer and hope. Prayer and hope," he said.

Anyone with any information about Nancy Guthrie's case should call 1-800-CALL-FBI or visit https://tips.fbi.gov/home.

Kotb's appearance on "Today" comes as the search for Nancy—who disappeared from her Arizona home in the early hours of Feb. 1—entered its sixth day, and hours after local law enforcement and FBI agents admitted they still have not identified any prime suspects or persons of interest in the case.

On Friday, Attorney General Pam Bondi offered words of support to the Guthrie family, noting that she and Savannah have known each other for more than 30 years.

"It breaks my heart for Savannah and for her family," Bondi said, according to NBC News. "I know she’s asked for all of our prayers. So please, pray for her. Pray for her beautiful mom. Pray for her family that she’s returned home."

Bondi added that the FBI is doing everything in its power to support local authorities.

What we know about the Nancy Guthrie ransom notes

The AG commented on the case one day after Heith Janke, special agent in charge of the FBI's Phoenix office, confirmed that his agents are actively investigating the ransom notes, revealing that the messages contained information that suggests they could be legitimate.

During a media briefing held Thursday afternoon—more than four days after Nancy disappeared from her Tucson-area home—Janke revealed that one ransom note being investigated by his team had a deadline of 5 p.m. on Feb. 5, as well as an additional deadline for Monday, Feb. 9.

He confirmed that "no proof of life" had been sent with the message, but that the sender of the note has not been in contact again since the message was received.

"We are continuing in a normal kidnapping case; there would be contact by now, trying to discuss that," Janke said. "But those are the time frames we're looking at as we move forward."

During an appearance on Sean Hannity's Fox News show on Thursday night, TMZ founder Harvey Levin shared new insight into the note that was sent to his outlet, telling the TV anchor that the person or persons behind the note had included information about Nancy's state of mind and wellbeing.

"The letter begins by saying she is safe, but scared, and they go on to say she knows exactly what the demand is," he revealed.

Levin added that the note claimed Nancy was fully "aware" of the demands being made of her family—having previously revealed that the message stated that "millions" of dollars should be sent to a Bitcoin account in order to secure her safe return.

"So they are, you know, through us [TMZ], telling the family and obviously the sheriff’s department gave the family the letter we received, exactly what they’re demanding, and they’re saying that Nancy is aware of it," he continued.

The entertainment news founder claimed that the information contained in the note leads him to believe that Nancy is still "within the radius of the Tucson area," but likely not in the city itself.

"There is a phrase in this email that absolutely makes me believe this person who wrote this, and if they’re telling the truth, that Nancy is within a radius of the Tucson area—not in Tucson right now, but in a radius," he said.

"It could be New Mexico. I don’t know how far, but I think at least what the authorities have is they’ve got a radius, and that’s something."

Levin described the note as being "a very specific, well organized, layered letter," adding that his team had verified the Bitcoin account included in the message, but had been unable to identify those behind it.

TMZ has agreed with authorities not to share certain details included in the note in order to avoid compromising their investigation, which is now entering its sixth day.

What is the full timeline of Nancy Guthrie's disappearance?

On Thursday, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos shared a full timeline of events leading up to the kidnapping, including a time frame for when they believe someone may have entered Nancy's property, explaining that a security camera that was mounted to the front door signaled movement at approximately 2:12 a.m. on Feb. 1.

When asked why no footage has been obtained from that camera—which is not in his department's possession and is believed to have been removed during the abduction—Nanos said that Nancy did not have a subscription that allows footage to be stored, meaning that any clips taken would have been immediately wiped from the camera.

"They had no subscription. That’s what our analysis teams have told us," he stated, while also noting that the movement detected on the camera could have been an animal, but that his team is continuing to pursue every available avenue to track down footage.

"Could that be an animal? I imagine that’s possible. We're not giving up on that," he said.

He confirmed that DNA taken from blood spatters found outside the front door of the home belonged to Nancy.

Nanos also offered a complete timeline of events that detectives have pieced together as part of the investigation, starting with Nancy's travel to her daughter Annie's home on the evening of Jan. 31 for a dinner.

The Pima County sheriff noted that, while times are approximate, his team has pieced together several pieces of evidence that indicate Nancy's movements—and the timeline of her apparent abduction.

Nancy, 84, was reported missing at around 12 p.m. local time on Feb. 1, around 14 hours after she was dropped off at the property by her daughter, Annie, following a family dinner. When she failed to turn up at her usual church service on Sunday, members of the congregation alerted her family, who found her home was empty.

SATURDAY, JAN. 31

5:32 p.m. Nancy travels to Annie's house in an Uber for "dinner and playing games with the family."

9:48 p.m. A garage door at Nancy's house opens when she was dropped off at the property by her daughter.

9:50 p.m. The garage door closes, indicating that Nancy was inside the home.

SUNDAY, FEB. 1

1:47 a.m. Nancy's doorbell security camera is disconnected.

2:12 a.m. Movement is detected on a security camera at the home. No footage of this is currently available.

2:28 a.m. Nancy's pacemaker app indicates that the device has been disconnected from her phone.

11:56 a.m. Nancy's family travels to her home to check on her and finds the property empty.

12:03 p.m. The family calls 911 to report Nancy missing.

12:14 p.m. Police officers arrive at Nancy's home.

While no footage is available from the cameras, Nanos noted that the security camera alerts lead them to believe that a person or persons may have been inside Nancy's home between 2:12 a.m., when movement was detected, and 2:28 a.m., when her pacemaker stopped syncing with her Apple devices.