On the third night since her mother went missing, Savannah Guthrie asked for prayers that 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie be returned home safely.
“Please pray,” read the simple graphic card on her Instagram post.
“Raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment,” wrote the Today host in the caption. “We believe in prayer. we believe in voices raised in unison, in love, in hope. we believe in goodness. we believe in humanity. above all, we believe in Him.”
She continued, “We need you…Bring her home.”
She also shared a verse from Isaiah 26:3: “He will keep in perfect peace those whose hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.”
This morning, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said authorities are treating the disappearance of Gutherie’s mother as a crime.
Nancy Guthrie was reported missing over the weekend after she was last seen by her family at about 9:45 p.m. Saturday. Search and rescue teams have been unable to find her.
Nanos said on Sunday night that although no body has been found, the homicide team was brought in “simply because what the scene was telling us.”
He continued, “I hope we find her safe and sound, but we can’t ignore what’s in front of us.”
The Today host issued a statement through the show this morning, as well.
“On behalf of our family, I want to thank everyone for the thoughts, prayers and messages of support,” Guthrie said in the statement. “Right now, our focus remains on the safe return of our dear mom. We thank law enforcement for their hard work on this case and encourage anyone with information to contact the Pima County Sheriff’s office at 520-351-4900.”
Jenna Bush Hager, co-host of NBC‘s Today With Jenna & Sheinelle at 10 a.m. ET, opened the third Today hour Monday with a plea for information.
“We need to start the show with something that is deeply personal for us this morning,” an emotional Bush Hager said. “Nancy Guthrie, Savannah’s beloved mom and somebody we adore around here, has been reported missing in Arizona.”
After co-host Sheinelle Jones read the message from the Guthrie family, Bush Hager added, “We love Nancy, I know her personally. … We are thinking of our dearest, dearest Savannah and her whole family right now. Our prayers obviously go out to Savannah.” Bush Hager reminded viewers that Nancy Guthrie requires daily medication that she might currently be without.
Also expressing support tonight were a number of well-known journalists, who replied in the comments of Guthrie’s post. They included former Today anchor Hoda Kotb, News Not Noise founder and former CNN White House correspondent Jessica Yellin, Bravo’s Andy Cohen, Meet the Press host Kristen Welker, CNN chief national affairs correspondent Jeff Zeleny and CBS News senior correspondent Norah O’Donnell.
