Savannah Guthrie has said it is “good to be home”, as she returned to the Today show for the first time since her mother went missing.
The broadcaster, 54, has returned to her post on the US breakfast programme more than two months after her mother, Nancy Guthrie, went missing from her home.
As Guthrie kicked off the NBC news show on Monday, she said: “Welcome to Today on this Monday morning. We are so glad you started your week with us, and it’s good to be home.”
Her co-host, broadcaster Craig Melvin, said: “It is good to have you back home.
“So good to have you back.”
They showed crowds of fans carrying signs welcoming Guthrie back and showing their support for her, as they gathered outside NBC’s New York studios where the show is filmed.
Guthrie also went outside during the broadcast and was greeted by the cheering crowd, and said: “You guys have been so beautiful, I’ve received so many letters and so much kindness.
“To me and my whole family, we feel it, we feel your prayers. Thank you so much.”
It has been reported that her mother, Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen at about 9.45pm near her home in Tucson, Arizona, on January 31, and was reported missing at midday the next day.
She is believed to have been taken against her will, and two alleged ransom notes were sent to US media and included a deadline for a payment to be made by February 9.
Police have not been able to verify whether the ransom notes are real.
Guthrie has also made multiple pleas on social media alongside her siblings Camron and Annie, directed at her mothers’ alleged kidnappers and begging for her to return home.
Guthrie, a prominent morning TV presenter in the US, temporarily stepped away from Today and stood down from NBC’s coverage of the winter Olympics in February.
Guthrie has held her role on the Today show almost 14 years, having first appeared as a presenter in 2012.
