Savannah Guthrie plans Today show return as mother remains missing

Savannah Guthrie will return to co-hosting the Today show after nearly two months off camera during the search for her mother, Nancy Guthrie. Monday, April 6, will mark Savannah’s first on-screen appearance since her mother’s disappearance, the Today show announced Friday. Officials believe the 84-year-old Nancy was forcibly taken from her southern Arizona home sometime in the early morning of Feb. 1.

Savannah discussed her decision to return amid the ongoing investigation during an interview with co-worker Hoda Kotb. She described the Today show as a sort of home and the crew as her family. The show is part of her purpose, Savannah explained.

Any investigative updates? Savannah shared several details about the crime scene during her recent interviews with Kotb. She reemphasized Nancy’s limited mobility and completely rejected the idea of her wandering off. Nancy couldn’t walk to the mailbox most days, Savannah said. She also described several doors being propped open, blood on the front doorstep, and the front door’s doorbell camera ripped from the wall. Savannah also noted that her mother was taken in her pajamas with no shoes. She also believed that two of the ransom notes that the family received were legitimate.

Any updates from the police? The Pima County Sheriff’s office released a Tuesday statement regarding the investigation with no new information or updates, but warning that any GoFundMe accounts claiming to be raising funds for the investigation are false. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, the investigation’s local leader, is facing calls for resignation over allegations of fraud taking place during his decades-long career in law enforcement.

Pima County Supervisor Matt Heinz discussed the troubling evidence during a Tuesday Board of Supervisors meeting. Nanos seemingly lied on his application to work for the county 42 years ago by withholding the fact that he had previously received eight suspensions in the span of five years as a police officer in El Paso, Heinz said. One excessive force suspension came from Nanos beating a handcuffed suspect with a flashlight, landing the suspect in the ICU, Heinz said Tuesday. Heinz called for Nano’s resignation and insisted the scandal had no bearing on any investigation during a separate interview.

Dig deeper: Read my previous update on the Guthrie investigation and the family announcing a $1 million reward for her return.