Savannah Guthrie was honored during the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics amid her mother Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance.
“That is exactly what it takes to bring you the Olympics, a team and we are certainly without a very important, beloved member of our team tonight: Our friend and colleague Savannah Guthrie,” Terry Gannon began during the live broadcast on Friday, February 6, holding back tears. “She is dearly missed by everybody here.”
Gannon, 62, was joined on Friday by Mary Carillo, who took over Guthrie’s role announcing the opening ceremony in Italy.
“She sure is, she’s covered so many Olympics, hasn’t she?” Carillo, 68, told Gannon. “And she loves them. Right now, of course Savannah and her family are in unspeakable, unfathomable pain. We know in the U.S. that her extended family is legion. Savannah, my friend, it’s the same way here.”
Savannah, 54, took a hiatus from Today and stepped down from NBC’s Olympics coverage after her mom, 84, was reported missing. Nancy was last seen in Arizona on Saturday, January 31.
“We send our love and our prayers and all of our positive energy to Savannah tonight,” Gannon added on Friday. “She did your right [and] always love the Olympics and the opening ceremony. And especially watching the athletes of Team USA make that walk.”
Terry Gannon, Mary Carillo, and Savannah Guthrie. Getty Images (3)
Savannah and her siblings, sister Annie and brother Camron, have remained hopeful for Nancy’s eventual return.
“On behalf of our family we want to thank all of you for the prayers for our beloved mom, Nancy,” Savannah said in an Instagram video shared Wednesday, February 4. “We feel them and we continue to believe that she feels them too. Our mom is a kind, faithful, loyal, fiercely loving woman of goodness and light. She is funny, spunky and clever. She has grandchildren who adore her and crowd around her and cover her with kisses. She loves fun and adventure. She is a devoted friend. She is full of kindness and knowledge.”
She continued, “Mommy, if you are hearing this, you are a strong woman. You are God’s precious daughter, Nancy. We believe and know that even in this valley, He is with you. Everyone is looking for you, Mommy, everywhere. We will not rest. Your children will not rest until we are together again. We speak to you every moment. And we pray without ceasing, and we rejoice in advance that the day that we hold you in our arms again. We love you, Mom.”
Savannah further revealed that she and her siblings were “ready to talk” about paying a ransom reward in exchange for Nancy’s safe return.
“As a family, we are doing everything that we can. We are ready to talk. However, we live in a world where voices and images are easily manipulated,” Savannah added. “We need to know without a doubt that she is alive and that you have her. We want to hear from you, and we are ready to listen. Please, reach out to us.”
Over 500 people attended a community candlelight vigil to pray for Savannah Guthrie’s missing mom, Nancy Guthrie, at a church in Tucson, Arizona, on Wednesday, February 4. Locals gathered at St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church to show their support for the Today show cohost’s mother, who was reported missing from her home outside […]
The next day, the FBI revealed an arrest was made for an “imposter ransom demand.”
“You will get more on that from the FBI and our U.S. Attorney’s office here in Arizona when it becomes available,” FBI Phoenix Special Agent in Charge Heith Janke said in a press conference held on Thursday, February 5. “We are continuing in a normal kidnapping case, there would be contact by now trying to discuss that, but those are the time frames we’re looking at as we move forward.”
Nancy shared Savannah, Annie and Camron with her late husband, Charles Guthrie, who died in 1988 after a heart attack at age 49.
