Savannah Guthrie Says She 'Imagines Her Terror' Every Night in First Interview Since Mum's Abduction

Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie said her family is 'in agony' over her mother's disappearance, telling former colleague Hoda Kotb in her first public remarks on the case that she wakes every night imagining what her mother went through.

'We are in agony. We are in agony. It is unbearable,' Guthrie said in a preview clip aired on Wednesday. 'I wake up every night in the middle of the night, every night. And in the darkness, I imagine her terror.'

The two-part interview will broadcast on NBC's Today on Thursday, 26 March and Friday, 27 March, NBC News reported. Guthrie has not spoken publicly about the case since her mother, Nancy Guthrie, 84, was reported missing from her home near Tucson, Arizona on 1 February.

Nancy Guthrie was last seen on the evening of 31 January. She had dinner at her daughter Annie's home in the Catalina Foothills north of Tucson before her son-in-law dropped her at her own residence shortly before 10:00 p.m. When she did not turn up for a virtual church service the next morning, family members reported her missing.

FBI Hunting Armed Suspect in Nancy Guthrie Case

Authorities have classified the case as a probable kidnapping. Nancy Guthrie's blood was found on the porch of her home, and investigators recovered DNA from an unknown individual inside the property.

Footage recovered from a Nest doorbell camera at the residence showed a masked individual carrying a firearm who appeared to interfere with the camera before it went offline at 1:47 a.m. on 1 February. Nancy Guthrie's pacemaker app disconnected from her phone at 2:28 a.m.

The FBI described the suspect as male, roughly 5ft 9in to 5ft 10in, with an average build. He was carrying a black 25-litre Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack, a brand exclusive to Walmart. More than 13,000 tips have been submitted to the bureau since 1 February.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said he believes Nancy Guthrie was specifically targeted. He told NBC that investigators are 'definitely closer' to identifying a suspect. No arrests have been made.

£790,000 Family Reward as Guthrie Search Enters Eighth Week

The Guthrie family has posted a reward of up to £790,000 ($1 million) for information leading to Nancy's return. The FBI is separately offering up to £79,000 ($100,000) for information leading to her recovery or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance.

'Someone needs to do the right thing,' Guthrie told Kotb. 'She needs to come home now.'

Eight weeks in, no suspects have been named and no motive disclosed. The family said in a statement to KVOA, the NBC affiliate in Tucson, that they 'continue to believe it is Tucsonans, and the greater southern Arizona community, that hold the key to finding resolution in this case.'

Guthrie has been on leave from the Today show since 1 February. She visited the programme's New York studio briefly on 5 March. 'I wanted you to know that I'm still standing, and I still have hope,' she told staff. 'I don't know how to come back, but I don't know how not to.'

A spokesperson for the show confirmed Guthrie plans to return to the anchor desk but said she remains focused on her family. NBC has not set a date.

Kotb, who stepped down from her co-anchoring role on Today last year, has been presenting alongside Craig Melvin during Guthrie's absence. She said on Wednesday that she sensed both 'desperation and steeliness' from Guthrie during the sit-down, Variety reported.