Savannah Guthrie, the co-host of NBC’s Today show, has described her family’s ordeal as “agony” in her first interview since her mother’s disappearance more than seven weeks ago.
“Someone needs to do the right thing. We are in agony. We are in agony. It is unbearable,” Guthrie said through tears in a preview of the pretaped interview with her co-host, Hoda Kotb, which previewed on Wednesday.
Guthrie’s 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie, was reported missing on 1 February.
“And to think of what she went through. I wake up every night in the middle of the night, every night,” Guthrie said.
“And in the darkness, I imagine her terror. And it is unthinkable, but those thoughts demand to be thought. And I will not hide my face. But she needs to come home now.”
The interview, set to air in full later this week, follows a weekend statement Guthrie’s family released urging residents of Tucson, Arizona, to come forward with any clues into her disappearance.
Investigators have reported finding blood on Nancy Guthrie’s porch. Later they recovered DNA from a glove, found roughly 2 miles from her home, which initially appeared consistent with one worn by an individual captured on surveillance footage the night she disappeared, but which authorities later determined belonged to a restaurant worker who is not a suspect.
The FBI is looking for a man approximately 5ft 9in to 5ft 10in tall with an average build. Officials say the case remains active, with local and federal agencies continuing to process and evaluate forensic evidence. Investigators have canvassed surrounding neighborhoods, reviewed extensive surveillance footage and conducted multiple interviews. No arrests have been made.
NBC confirmed earlier this month that Savannah Guthrie plans to return to the Today show, though a timeline for her return has not been provided.
