Savannah Guthrie has been taking some well-deserved time off from Today, and was absent from the show at the start of the week.
On June 29, Savannah’s seat was being kept warm by Weekend Today star Laura Jarrett, while Sheinelle Jones sat in Craig Melvin’s chair.
Sheinelle began the show, telling viewers: “Good morning and welcome to Today, thank you for joining us on this Monday morning. I’m Sheinelle Jones alongside Laura Jarrett.”
She then added: “Savannah and Craig have the day off,” before confirming that they would both return the following day.
Savannah’s time off will no doubt be welcomed by the star, who has faced a difficult week with new news headlines surrounding the ongoing search for her mother, Nancy Guthrie.
© GC ImagesNancy was last seen on January 31 after her family dropped her off at her home in Tucson, Arizona. It is believed that she was taken from her home in the early hours of February 1, and hasn’t been seen since.
Most recently, content from one of the two notes from Nancy’s alleged kidnapper was made public for the first time, including a line indicating that the 84-year-old had died.
The news was first reported on June 22, and was covered on Today the following morning. Craig led the news story and spoke with NBC News correspondent Liz Kreutz, who has been reporting on the story from the beginning.
© GC ImagesThe show then cut back to the Today studios, where Savannah was seated in the middle of the table, joined by co-stars Craig, Jenna Bush Hager, Carson Daly, and Al Roker, who all dressed in black.
Understandably, the segment was particularly difficult for Savannah. Craig told her: “The bravery and courage of which you have done this job every day since that happened is nothing short of remarkable.” She replied: “I love you guys, and I love this place and this is unusual and unprecedented. I don’t have any comment on this story and I’m not involved in our coverage, but I can’t pretend I’m not here and so since I am, I wanted to just take that opportunity to ask people to come forward,” she said.
© NBC“Someone knows something. And this story today is a news story on your radar but this is the life my sister lives, that I live, that my brother lives, that our extended families live, that our children live, every day.
“And we are in agony. We cannot be in peace, however much I try to come out here every day, and I will find that joy, I promise I will. But we need your help. We are begging for your help and I’m not going to miss that opportunity.
“If you are watching, the reward is there, you can tell us. It can be anonymous. Please do the right thing for us, for our children. We love our mom and we will never stop looking for her.”
The authenticity of the notes has been addressed by Pima County Sheriff Department’s Chris Nanos, who has been leading the investigation alongside the FBI.
During an appearance on KVOI AM 1030’s Buckmaster Show on Friday, June 26, per Newsweek, he stated: “I think the FBI has done a number of arrests for false or fake ransom notes. It’s a shame that that happens, but I think we’re looking at another one of those today.”
In the last official update shared by the Sheriff’s Department, they maintained that the investigation was still “active and ongoing,” and they “will continue to follow up on any credible information.”
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