WASHINGTON, March 27 - Savannah Guthrie is due back on the set of NBC's Today show on April 6, the network said on Friday, ending an absence of more than two months tied to the unresolved disappearance of her 84-year-old mother.
The planned return will be Guthrie's first in-studio appearance since January 30, which was two days before Nancy Guthrie was reported missing from her Arizona residence. The network provided the date her return is scheduled to occur but has not offered additional operational details about the broadcast.
Guthrie addressed her decision to resume on-air duties in an interview that aired on the program on Friday. She acknowledged the emotional difficulty of returning to a workplace she described as "such a place of joy and lightness," and said she could not present herself as someone she is not. At the same time, she explained a sense of obligation to return.
"It’s hard to imagine doing it because it’s such a place of joy and lightness, and I can’t come back and try to be something that I’m not," Guthrie said. "But I can’t not come back, because it’s my family. I think it’s part of my purpose right now."
According to the information provided by the family, Nancy Guthrie was last seen by relatives on January 31 after spending the evening at the Tucson home of her older daughter, Annie Guthrie, and Annie's husband. The family has said they received ransom notes during the course of the disappearance and have offered a $1 million reward for information that leads to Nancy Guthrie's recovery.
The matter remains unresolved as of the announcement of Savannah Guthrie's planned return to the studio. No additional details about the status of the investigation or any developments in the search were included in the network's statement accompanying the return date.
Summary of known facts above reflects the material released by the family and the network: the scheduled broadcast date, the timing of Guthrie's last in-studio appearance, the last reported sighting of Nancy Guthrie, receipt of ransom notes, and the $1 million reward offer. The announcement focuses on Guthrie's intent to balance personal circumstances with her role on the morning program.