In the second part of the interview broadcast on the Today show, Savannah also described the moment when she left Arizona to head home to New York as the search continued – revealing she wept as she looked out of the aeroplane window overlooking the desert her mum “loved”.
She said: “I looked out the window of the airplane and just thought: ‘Where are you?’ That desert, that beautiful desert that she loved. ‘Where are you? How could I leave you?’”
However, Savannah insisted she learnt a lot about dealing with grief from her mum after their family was rocked by the loss of the TV star’s dad.
Nancy (right), 84, disappeared from her Arizona home on February 1; police suspect kidnapping. Photo / Getty Images
She said: “My mom taught me a lot about grief. Our family knows grief. My father passed when I was 16 years old. He was only 49. It was a shock.
“And I remember my mom saying in those early days when daddy died, like: ‘You have to get up and decide and do. Just decide and do … ‘
“I always remember that so I’m just trying to decide and do. Get up and decide and do every day. I’ve felt terrible grief and I’ve felt unfathomable love and comfort … She showed us how to survive the unimaginable.”
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department (PCSD) launched an urgent search for Nancy after she failed to show up for a church service on February 1, the day after her relatives had dropped her home.
Investigators believe she was kidnapped overnight, and have obtained surveillance footage of a masked man at her door.
Earlier this month, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos admitted that investigators believe they know the motive behind the kidnapping, but didn’t offer any details.
He told NBC News: “We believe we know why [the kidnapper] did this and we believe that it was targeted, but we’re not 100% sure of that.
“I think day one, we had some strong beliefs about what happened, and those beliefs haven’t diminished.”
Savannah and her family are offering a US$1 million reward for information that leads to Nancy’s “recovery”. They are also planning to donate US$500,000 to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to help other families with missing loved ones.