Dateline NBC - Savannah Speaks: A Dateline Special

Episode Date: March 28, 2026

In her first interview since her mother’s disappearance, TODAY co-anchor Savannah Guthrie shares her family’s fears and anguish with Hoda Kotb, as well as their hope for answers.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Do you feel ready to do this? No. I'll never be ready to talk about what's happened. But I have a lot to say. Tonight, my emotional conversation with Savannah Guthrie about her mother's disappearance. I just thought, where are you? Yeah. Where are you?

She taught me to be strong. She showed me because no one ever learns anything by being told. You only learned by being shown. She showed us. Tell me what you thought when you saw those images of the person who took your mother. I mean, it's just absolutely terrifying. And I can't imagine that that is who she saw standing over her bed. Someone knows something.

We talk about family, faith, and her future. So how about coming back? You know, everyone's wondering. I can't come back and try to be something that I'm not. But I can't not come back because it's my family. When times are hard to be with your family. Good evening. I'm Hoda Kotby. It's the story that has horrified the nation, and it hit us so hard here at NBC. The abduction of Savannah Guthrie's beloved mom, Nancy. As we've followed developments in this case, we have marveled at Savannah's strength and her courage.

Well, tonight that courage, it is on full display as she opens up about her raw and deeply painful journey over these last eight weeks. This was unlike any interview I've ever done. It's a conversation both unbearable and yet somehow because of who Savannah is inspirational. On the weekend, her family's life changed forever. Savannah was having fun with her kids while her husband, Mike, was away. Take me back to the day. Tell me what you were doing and what happened. I had given Mike for Christmas a boy's trip to go play tennis,

and so he had been gone for the weekend. So I took my kids actually to Carson's, so we could all hang out. That's our friend and colleague, Carson Daly. We had a beautiful fun night together, and then it came home, and really it just got home. at the same time that Mike came home, and we were just saying hi, putting down our stuff, and the kids were running around.

And my sister called me, and I said, is everything okay? And she said, no. She said, Mom's missing. And I said, what? What are you talking about? She said she's gone. And she was in a panic. I was in a panic.

Her sister, Annie, was at Nancy's house in Tucson, Arizona, along with her husband Tommy. Nancy's friends had called them after she did not show up to watch an online church service. I'm like, call 911. She's like, I did. We've called them.

They're here. You know, she tried really hard to figure it out before she worried us, you know, before she called. And they were kind of running around the house. And we thought that she must have had like some kind of medical episode in the night and that somehow, you know, the paramedics had come because the back doors were propped open. But her phone was there and her purse

was there and all her things. And it just didn't make any sense. Annie and Tommy had already called all the hospitals, but then I'm like, I'm going to call the hospital. So then I started calling the hospitals and the police were there and talking to her at the same time. And it It was just chaos. You know, that was like 2 o'clock in the afternoon, but, you know, I was on a plane at 7.30 to Phoenix. And then two-hour drive down to Tucson, and I probably got to my sister's house at 2 in the morning. And my brother was already there. You saw Annie and Cam when you got to their house.

Tell me about that moment. Just disbelief. and hugging each other, and I think we were on the phone with the sheriff and trying to really make clear, this isn't that case that you are used to where someone wanders off. She can't wander off.

She was in tremendous pain. Her back was very bad. On a good day, she could walk down to the mailbox and get the mail, but most days not. So there was no wander off. And the doors were bobbedoom in. And there was blood on the front door. And the ring camera had been yanked off.

And so we were saying this is, this is not okay. Something is very wrong here. Did you guys talk about what could have happened? Well, we talked about everything, that it's just, it's impossible to believe. Yeah. Yeah. I still don't believe it. I still, many times a day.

remember, and it's like being punched in the face. Like, what are you talking about? My mom? Where's my mom? My little mom. What do you mean? Someone took her? Who took my mom?

Who took this? Who took her from her bed? It doesn't make sense. I don't understand. My brother, you know, he spent his career in the military and worked in intelligence and it's a fighter pilot

and it's brilliant and he saw very clearly right away what this was and even on the phone when they called him he knew and he said I think she's been kidnapped

for ransom and I said what? Well, why? And then, I mean, it sounds so like how dumb could I be, but I just, I didn't want to believe. I just said, do you think because of me? And I said, well, I'm sorry, sweetie, but yeah, maybe. But I knew that.

You did? I hope not. I don't know that it's because she's my mom. And somebody thought, oh, that girl, that lady has money. We can make a quick buck. But yeah, that's probably, which is too much to bear. To think that I brought this to her bedside. That it's because of me.

And I 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 and my brother-in-law. I'm like so sorry. I'm so sorry. If it is me, I'm so sorry. At that point, Nancy Guthrie had been missing for nearly 24 hours

and as searches got underway, strange clues would begin to emerge. When we return, Savannah tells us. me about those disturbing ransom notes. I think most of them, it's my understanding, are not real. But I believe the two notes that we received that we responded to, I tend to believe those are real. On the morning of February 2nd, America woke up to the unfathomable news. Breaking overnight, Nancy Guthrie, Savannah's 84-year-old mother,

now at the center of a missing person's case. Then the Pima County Sheriff confirmed what Savannah and her family feared most. Their mother had been abducted. We believe now that we do in fact have a crime scene, that we do in fact have a crime. And we're asking the community's help. Two days later, Savannah and her siblings made their first public plea. Our mom is our heart and our home. She is 84 years old.

Her health, her heart is fragile. How is it possible that we are having to make a video speaking to a kidnapper who took an 84-year-old woman in the dead of night in her pajamas with no shoes without her medicine and to beg for mercy? I remember you said talk to her. Talk to her. That's what you said, I remember. She is a devoted friend.

She is full of kindness and knowledge. Talk to her, and you'll see. You're lucky to be in her company, even if for a moment, see it. Investigators put out a timeline. Nancy had been dropped off at home at about 9.50 p.m. Saturday, January 31st. The next morning, at 2.28 a.m., her pacemaker disconnected from an app on her cell phone, suggesting that that was around the time she was taken. In the days that followed, notes demanding payment were sent to media outlets.

We are aware of a ransom letter that was sent to the local media and then to national outlets. The ransom notes or ransom requests came. A lot of people wondered, are those true? Did you believe those to be real? There are a lot of different notes, I think, that came. And I think most of them, it's my understanding, are not real. You know, a person that would send a fake ransom note really has to look deeply at themselves. But I believe the two notes that we received that we responded to, I tend to believe those are real.

Really? Which is why we responded. We received your message and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. No response came, but on day 10, the investigation made a leap forward. Tonight, the first chilling images shutting light on what happened at Nancy Guthrie's house the night she was abducted. Authorities were able to recover footage from Nancy's doorbell camera, chilling images of a masked man trying to obscure the lens. In his waistband, a gun. Tell me what you thought when you saw

those images of the person who took your mother. I mean, it's just absolutely terrifying. And I can't imagine that that is who she saw standing over her bed. I can't. Inverting. Investigators are gleaning every clue from that video that they can. The backpack is a model sold exclusively at Walmart. Forensic analysis suggests the man is between 5'9 and 5 foot 10 with almond-shaped eyes and facial hair. For the family, the video also put a painful issue to rest. And I'm glad and grateful to the investigators and the technology companies that were able to find that video. to I hope, at least with people of good heart and compassion, stop the irresponsible and cruel speculation that had started to swirl.

Let's talk about that for a minute. I'm glad that people saw what came to our door. When you talk about the cruel speculation, the whispers, the innuendo, that it was somebody in your family. How did you and your siblings even weather that? It's unbearable, and it piles pain upon pain. I don't understand, I'll never understand. But we are not looking at those people.

Yeah, yeah. We are looking for the light. And my family, we are strong for her. And no one took better care of my mom. than my sister and brother-in-law, and no one protected my mom more than my brother. Leeds poured in after the release of that video, but nothing so far has led to the masked man or to Nancy. The investigation continues with authorities asking neighbors for home security footage from both the time Nancy disappeared to as far back as January 11th, when it's possible a suspicious person appeared near the house.

something law enforcement and Google are trying to confirm. They're still working to determine the model of the gun the man was carrying, as well as attempting to analyze mixed and partial DNA from an unknown source found in the home. It has now been 55 days since Nancy vanished. A lot of people were frustrated, I think, with the investigation. How did your family feel about the way the investigation was conducted.

Well, it's still going. And people have worked tirelessly, tirelessly, and we see that. But we need answers. We cannot be at peace without knowing. We have to know. And someone knows. Someone knows.

You're focusing on people in Tucson. somebody there must have seen or known something and maybe forgot about it or didn't pay attention to it. Yeah. Something, right? How can someone vanish? Yeah. Without a trace. How?

Someone knows something. Even if that something is someone's been acting strange for the last seven, eight weeks. Even if it's just that, somebody knows. When our conversation continues, Savannah shares stories about the woman at the center of it all, her remarkable mother. She wasn't one of those moms that, oh, my kid can do no wrong or everything you do is perfect. Therefore, like, if she believes in you, you could take that to the bank. You speak about your mom always. in the present tense.

Yeah. I mean, she is present tense to me. All of us who know Savannah know that her mother Nancy has always been her light and her role model. How about just tell me about your mommy? Yeah. My mom is, she's incredible. She has that wisdom about her. she's funny and a little mischievous I would say in her humor

she does what's right she walks in faith but not a fake pious put on faith but like a grounded earthy she fought for it faith. Where did her faith come from? She grew up in the church and she grew up Catholic. But she really, she and my dad really had their own experience, which we Baptist would have called a conversion experience, you know, when they were married and in their 20s.

They had us three kids. Annie always used to say God was the sixth member of our family. And that's true. I mean, I was lucky enough to meet Nancy. We all were. What is the best part of being her daughter? My mom is so strong and sure and resolute that she also is a truth teller. And she really doesn't suffer fools. And, you know, she wasn't one of those moms that, oh, my kid can do no wrong or everything you do is perfect and she therefore like if she believes in you

you could take that to the bank I used to say she's a noble creature she would just scoff at that oh please no I'm not you know but she is and she was and I don't know whether to talk about her in present tense or past tense I don't know

but I know where she is you know she's with God either way either way do you picture her in heaven do you have an image of what that looks like yeah I do

imagine her she's to say that she imagined that when you passed away that on your first night in heaven and God would take you on a tour just for you and show you the universe. This is how I made this, and this is how I made that. And she really loved that thought because she was so curious.

You know, she's such a journalist, you know. She, of course, got her master's in journalism and was going to be a newspaper reporter when she was young, but then met my dad and they had a family. After Savannah's father died suddenly of a heart attack when she was just 16, her mom taught her the meaning of strength and resilience. And I remember my mom saying in those early days when daddy died, like, you have to get up and decide and do. Just decide and do.

She had read that in a book that meant a lot to her and her grief. And so I remember, I always remember that, so I'm trying to decide and do. She showed us how to survive the unimaginable. When she lost my dad, she was 46 years old. She had three kids. She had never worked outside the home. She had to get up. She had to find a job.

She had to mother, two teenagers and one young adult, just starting making his way into the world. I remember moments in my childhood, and those days after my dad died, she was so strong. But some mornings before dawned when she thought we were still sleeping, I would hear her crying at my door to not be alone in her grief. She took care of her mother, her brother, who had Down syndrome. She invited to come live with us. She worked part-time to make ends kind of me. She stayed strong for us. She was resolute.

She was real. So she taught me to be strong. But she taught me to be. True. She showed me because no one ever learns anything by being told. You only learned by being shown. She showed us. And next, I asked Savannah how she's able right now to put the lessons from her mother into practice. How did you navigate that part of your life? How were you speaking to your kids. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. In the initial days, you and your sister and brother sat together in all the despair you sat and

managed to think of words to say, things to convey, were you able to do that in that moment? Well, my siblings are amazing. And we are. a unit. While Savannah and her siblings have experienced unspeakable anguish since their mother's abduction, their closeness has made them stronger. I talked about how brilliant my brother is. This is Cameron Guthrie. I'm speaking for the Guthrie family. My sister is equally brilliant and also has special powers of intuition and faith and language.

and depth and heart. Mama, if you're listening, we need you to come home. I mean, the first thing that I posted about it was for people to pray, and it's my sister Annie who said that to me. She said, Savannah, I think you need to ask people to pray. And I haven't posted one thing or said one thing that the three of us haven't decided together.

You were there, you were getting updates from law enforcement, but how were you passing the time? What were you doing during the days? We had to move houses many times because people came and not everyone is respectful, unfortunately. There was a night we had to leave in the dark in the desert, holding hands me and my sister and brother and I get into a car waiting for us

because the people outside were closing in so we found a place that was safe and then we couldn't really leave too much so those days are a blur crying and praying One of the images that stayed with me through all of this was you and Annie and Tomaso walking up and looking at the flowers and at the notes. The three of you, arm and arm in that moment connected, I thought that was so beautiful. And at the same time, as I saw that, I thought, I wonder if Savannah's going inside and what that must have felt like for you to go inside of your child at home, your mom's house.

Yeah, I mean, this is the house that we grew up in. It's really the only house I've ever known and remember. We moved there when I was about four, I think. It's the house where all of our memories are, good and bad, so it's hallowed ground. Savannah's sister and brother-in-law live near the childhood home. They were there every day for my mom. they made it possible for her to stay in the house we grew up in that she loved so much

so Annie and Tommy made that possible for her they were close a letter have her space and it's just a way in which this is just even more excruciating for them and all that they've been through tell me while you were spending all this time in Tucson

on, your kids were home. How did you navigate that part of your life? How were you speaking to your kids? What did they know? What do they know? Well, it's so hard with kids because, you know, you know, you want to protect them. Yeah. This is the longest I ever was away from my kids. I would never go for a trip, not for work, not for anything, and be gone so long. and I have so many beautiful friends that came and cared for them and lifted them and took their minds off things and bail would write me all the time. Mama, any leads? Any leads?

Do you hear anything? You know, any hope? We tried to talk to them and try to give them a little more certainty than we have to let them grieve. Are they noticing that you're different, your kids?

I think they do. Try not to be different, but also not doing them any favors by putting on some facade. Kids know. No, they do. And they'd be more disturbed by something that felt not real. Mm-hmm.

But my kids are my joy, and they were my mom's joy. A family leaning on each other, getting through one day, at a time relying on faith. Next, Savannah tells me how this ordeal has both solidified and challenged her faith. God doesn't tell us not to wrestle with him. This isn't some cheap faith. This is real. The Guthrie family asked for prayers, and the response was overwhelming.

At St. Phillips in the Hills Episcopal Church in Tucson, more than 400 people attended a candlelight vigil to pray for Nancy's safe return. Did you wrestle with your faith throughout this? You're resolute and strong like your mama, but did you at some point during all of this have to wrestle with it? Yes. Yeah.

And I'm not done. But God doesn't tell us not to wrestle with him. This isn't some cheap faith. This is real. And God doesn't ask us. just be stoic. And my mom taught me that. We are at an hour of desperation.

Even for a person immersed in faith, this has been a time of testing for Savannah, filled with questions and doubts. But once again, she is finding comfort in her mom's example. One of my mom's best friend told me that she had been going through a hard time, and she said to my mom, Nancy, how do you keep your friend? faith. And my mom said to her, but where else would I go? And I hold that with me. Where else would I go? But faith is how I will stay connected to my mom. God is how I'm holding hands with my mom.

And it's not easy. And I have cried out, where are you? Where are you? We may not get an answer. Some people don't. Savannah knows her family is not unique in their despair. We know there are millions of families that have suffered with this kind of uncertainty. That's why, in addition to offering a $1 million reward for information about Nancy's disappearance, they also made a $500,000 donation to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Who are we to think that this broken world wouldn't touch us? Of course it will.

And God is the only thing that makes it bearable. My mom could not bear to see this pain. For her, she would say, oh, honey, don't worry about me. Don't worry about me. She would. She would. But she couldn't stand to see us suffer. She could not bear to see our sadness.

And I won't let sadness win for her. I saw her grieve. I saw her a world shatter. I saw it. And I saw her get up. And I saw her believe. And I saw her love. And I saw her smile.

And I saw her laugh. I saw her joy. And I'm a mistake. not do it as well as her, but I will do it. I will do it for my kids. I will. I will not fall apart. I will not let whoever did this take my children's mother from them. I will not let them take my joy. They will not take my sister's joy. They will not take my brother's joy. They will not take our love. They will not take our faith.

But our anguish is real. We need help. We need someone to tell the truth. Yes. I have no anger in my heart. I have hope in my heart. I have love. But this family needs people.

peace. Someone needs to do the right thing. We are in agony. We are in agony. It is unbearable. And to think of what she went through. I wake up every night in the middle of the night, every night and in the darkest. I imagine her terror,

And it is unthinkable, but those thoughts demand to be thought. And I will not hide my face. And when we return, Savannah tells me what the future might hold for her and her other family at the Today Show. I don't know if I can do it. I don't know if I'll belong anymore. But I would like to try. I would like to try. You know, it was a hard decision for you,

and I know you told me about this, was coming back here, leaving Arizona to come back to New York. Why was that so difficult, that choice? I looked out the window of the airplane, that beautiful desert that she loves. So where are you? How could I leave you?

When Savannah came back to New York to her husband and children, she knew it meant facing her future. She also knew she would draw strength from her second family, all of us at the Today Show and NBC. One of the enduring images for me was walking into Studio 1A and seeing you there, speaking to everybody. What was it like for you, walking back in there? I really wanted to come and see everybody. I just love this beautiful place that we call home where we get to come and be every day. I know how much people have prayed for me and loved me.

Our thoughts and our prayers are with our dear friend and colleague and her family this morning. She has been braver than I can even imagine. She has been so vulnerable. I just can't say enough incredible things about what an amazing spirit she is. All the notes and messages that I have received are just so beautiful. I just wanted to be with my family. They're my family too. And I wanted to just say that I love them and I felt them.

and their kindness is carrying me and that I'll be okay. You said something when you were there and you said, I don't know how to come back and I don't know how not to come back. That struck me. Yeah. That's how I feel to get to be at the Today Show and to have my dream come true.

It was better than my dream. it was more than all I could ask or imagine. So how about coming back? I know everyone's wondering. So it's hard to imagine doing it because it's such a place of joy and lightness and I can't come back and try to be something that I'm not. But I can't not come back because it's my family. I think it's part of my purpose right now And I think

I can't collapse and I can't fall apart though there are days that I want to and there are days that I do but I want to get up I want to smile and when I do it will be real

I will have joy my joy will be my answer and being there is joyful and when it's not I'll say so and I have been so grateful to have this family

I consider this is my family my greater family and when times are hard you want to be with your family and I want to be with my family And my sister says Being who you are And being as authentic

And as real as you are In this moment Is what you should do And it will be a relief She said some people watch TV And think, why are those people so happy all the time? Yeah, exactly Maybe it's a relief to just be who you are

And so I don't know if I can do it. I don't know if I'll belong anymore. But I would like to try. I would like to try. Everybody's waiting for you just so you know. Well, I miss everybody, you know? Yeah.

And it feels good to be with the people that you love. I plan to do my best. Mm-hmm. And plan to tell the truth. truth, and I'm not going to be the same. But maybe it's like that whole poem, more beautiful in the broken places. That you are. We're saying.

And we've got some good news to share. Savannah will return to the Today Show on Monday, April 6th. And while we are so looking forward to that date, our hearts are, as ever, with her and the entire Guthrie family. A reminder, if anybody has information on Nancy Guthrie's case, please call the number on your screen, the FBI's tip line, 1-800-Call-FBI. That's all for now. I'm Hoda Kotby. Thanks so much for joining us.