Savannah Guthrie is opening up about the disappearance of her 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie, sharing a heartbreaking suspicion that her fame might be the reason for the suspected abduction. According to CNN, Guthrie revealed her brother first brought up the possibility that Nancy was kidnapped for ransom due to her daughter’s public profile.
“I said, ‘What? Why? What?’ It sounds so – how dumb could I be but I just, I didn’t want to believe. I said, ‘Do you think because of me?'” Guthrie recounted during an emotional interview with her NBC colleague and friend, Hoda Kotb. “He said, ‘I’m sorry sweetie, but yeah maybe.’ But I knew that. I hope not. I mean we still don’t know. Honestly we don’t know anything.”
“I don’t know that it’s because she’s my mom, and somebody thought, ‘That lady has money, we could make a quick buck.’ I mean that would make sense, but we don’t know, 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. I just say, I’m so sorry mommy. I’m so sorry. … If it is me, I’m so sorry,” she stated, clearly overcome with emotion.
It is crazy that we are almost two months into this investigation with no answers
Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her home on January 31 in what authorities believe was an abduction. Doorbell camera footage from that night showed an armed, masked individual tampering with the camera. As the police tracked a potential suspect across the border, the family received many ransom letters. Guthrie believes at least two of them are real.
Guthrie’s mother, who was in tremendous pain from a bad back, could barely walk to the mailbox on a good day, making any idea of her wandering off impossible. She confirmed that ” the doors were propped open, and there was blood on the front door step, and the Ring camera had been ripped off. So we were saying, this is not OK. Something is very wrong here.”
Seeing the video of the masked and armed suspect was “absolutely terrifying,” she added, finding it hard to imagine her mother facing such a person. “It’s the house where all of our memories are, good and bad, so it’s hallowed ground,” she explained. “That’s my mom’s safe haven. It’s really hard to see that violated.”
Despite the ongoing anguish, Guthrie is drawing on past strength. “I remember my mom saying in those early days when daddy died, ‘You have to get up and decide and do. Just decide and do,’” Guthrie shared. “I always remember that, so I’m trying to decide and do. Let’s get up and decide and do every day.”
Savannah Guthrie blaming herself for her mother’s kidnapping in sit-down with her friend Hoda Kotb. #SavannahGuthrie #NancyGuthrie #HodaKotb pic.twitter.com/9aD40Y7bxE
— Hot Mics with Billy Bush (@hotmicsbilly) March 26, 2026
The investigation remains active, with a dedicated 20- to 24-person task force working on the case. The family has also offered a substantial $1 million reward for information leading to Nancy Guthrie’s recovery.
