Savannah Guthrie’s consistent TV presence when she returns to “Today” will be a huge help in the ongoing investigation into her mother’s disappearance.
Savannah’s NBC co-hosts announced on Friday that she will be returning to her position at “Today” on April 6 after her beloved mother, Nancy Guthrie, was kidnapped from her Arizona home on Feb. 1.
Former FBI Agent Jason Pack exclusively tells Page Six how Savannah going back to work could help the investigation, saying, “Savannah has a platform most families do not have, and she is using it.”
“Every morning that she sits behind that desk, her mother’s face will stay in front of millions of people. That matters,” he continues. “That is fighting back the only way she can right now and gives her control over how she and her family choose to navigate the worst thing that has ever happened to them.”
Pack says, “I think the bottom line is this: You might be able to kidnap someone’s mamma, but you sure as heck can’t kidnap their backbone. The strength you see in people during these cases never stops surprising you.”
The ex-agent adds that you hold onto what you can control and show up.
“You do not hand the people who did this any more than they have already taken. That is the definition of strength. Plain and simple,” he explains.
Hoda Kotb announced Friday that Savannah is “coming back to this job that she loves here at ‘Today.’”
Craig Melvin added of his co-host, “Because she is not going to let sadness win. Joy is going to be her protest. It is where she belongs. It is where we all want her to be.”
Also during the interview, Savannah vowed not to fall apart during the family nightmare.
The news anchor went on to explain how her brother, Camron Guthrie, “saw very clearly right away” that Nancy could’ve been “kidnapped for ransom.”
Savannah asked, “Like, how dumb could I be? I didn’t want to believe it but do you think because of me?’ And he said, ‘I’m sorry, sweetie, but yeah, maybe.’”
She continued, “But I knew that — I hope not, we still don’t know. We don’t know anything, so I don’t know that it’s because she’s my mom and somebody thought, ‘Oh, that lady has money, we can make a quick buck,’ that would make sense but we don’t know.”
Savannah said the thought of her mother being kidnapped for ransom because of her profession is “too much to bear.”
She heartbreakingly said, “That it’s because of me and I just want to say, I’m so sorry, mommy.”
Nancy was reported missing on Feb. 1 after she missed a virtual church service.
Authorities said in a press conference that it is believed Nancy was abducted in her sleep and “harmed,” as a trial of her blood was seen outside of her Tucson, Arizona home.
Video and photos of a masked individual were released to the public on Feb. 10.
Savannah also gave more details on the abduction during Thursday’s part of the interview, saying, “The doors were propped open, there was blood on the front doorstep and the Ring camera had been yanked off.”
A number of people have been questioned in the kidnapping, but no suspects have been arrested.
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