Savannah Guthrie cried as she met with supporters while making her return to Today two months after her mother Nancy’s abduction.
The 54-year-old made her way outside, alongside her morning show co-hosts, to Rockefeller Plaza around 8.30am ET Monday, where she was greeted by a team of supporters.
Wearing yellow ribbons as a sign of hope and carrying signs of support, Savannah sobbed as she met with those who gathered.
The journalist said: ‘These signs are so beautiful, you guys have been so beautiful. I’ve received so many letters, so much kindness to me and my whole family.
‘We feel it, we feel your prayers,’ she said as she wiped away tears using co-host Al Roker‘s handkerchief while locking arms with Jenna Bush Hager.
At one point, she told a supporter, who was seen wearing a T-shirt reading ‘Welcome Home Savannah’, ‘I love you’.
Prior to stepping outside as part of the programming, it was business as usual from behind the studio desk as she kick-started the show with co-host Craig Melvin.
She said, ‘It’s good to be home,’ while wearing a cheerful yellow lace dress that coordinated beautifully with spring flowers placed in vases behind her.
The star got straight down to reading the news headlines when Today started, beginning with the war in Iran.
Afterward, she shared a brief exchange with Melvin, repeating, ‘It’s good to be home.’
Linking arms with co-host Jenna Bush Hager, Savannah Guthrie made her way to Rockefeller Plaza as a crowd of supporters cheered her on
The journalist speaks to one supporter who wore a T-shirt reading ‘Welcome Home Savannah’
At one point, Al Roker handed her a handkerchief to wipe away her tears
Savannah posing for a selfie with a supporter outside the Manhattan Today studio on Monday
Savannah took time off from Today after her mother, Nancy Guthrie, went missing in February. The 84-year-old has not been seen since
Placing a protective hand on top of Savannah’s, Melvin said, ‘It’s good to have you home.’
Savannah responded, ‘Well, ready or not, here we go, let’s read the news,’ and got stuck into an in-depth piece on Iran.
About half an hour after Savannah’s return, the camera panned to show a number of people outside the Manhattan studio with signs of support.
She said: ‘Some beautiful signs out there. I’m excited to see them [and] give them all a hug. I’ve been really feeling the love so much.’
Late last month, Savannah gave an in-depth interview about Nancy’s abduction to Today co-host Hoda Kotb.
She said the continued lack of information about her mother’s whereabouts has left her in despair.
NBC is said to have created a comprehensive plan to help Savannah return. It is unclear what will happen if there is an update about Nancy’s case just before the star goes on air, or while she is hosting live.
Nancy, 84, was last seen entering her $1 million home on the evening of January 31 after having dinner with her daughter, Annie, and son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni.
The next morning, she was reported missing after failing to attend a virtual church service with friends.
Ten days later, terrifying photos and videos of a potential suspect were released by the FBI, showing an armed, masked figure wearing black latex gloves at the door of her home.
Savannah told viewers ‘it’s good to be home’ as she made her return to Today on Monday morning
The FBI previously released images of a potential suspect at Nancy’s door on the night she vanished
Nancy was last seen entering her $1 million home, seen here, on the evening of January 31 after having dinner with her daughter, Annie, and son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni
The figure was seen tampering with her Nest doorbell camera. The footage has so far been the only major evidence breakthrough that has been made public.
Since Savannah’s mother vanished, there have been a series of ransom notes sent to the family and to media outlets demanding money in Bitcoin in return for Nancy.
Savannah told Kotb she believed two of the notes were genuine, but nothing ever came of them.
Authorities and the family also could not verify the authenticity of the ransom notes, despite their willingness to pay.
Over the course of the investigation, only a few people have been taken in for questioning. No one has been arrested.
In a video released on Easter Sunday, Savannah held back tears as she described her ‘deep disappointment with God’ that her mother was still missing.
During the holiday mass at her church, Good Shepard New York, Savannah said it has been challenging for her to navigate the day.
Voice trembling, she said: ‘We celebrate today the promise of a new life that never ends in death.
The Guthrie family has offered a $1 million reward for information leading to the recovery of their mother
A large banner is seen here surrounded in yellow ribbons outside the KVOA Newsroom in Tucson, Arizona
‘But, standing here today, I have to tell you, there are moments in which that promise seems irretrievably far away.
‘When life itself seems far harder than death. These moments of deep disappointment with God, the feeling of utter abandonment.
‘For most of us, there will come a time in our lives when these feelings hold sway. In our tradition, we are taught to take comfort in the fact that our friend, Jesus, in his short life, experienced every single emotion that we humans can feel.
‘That his taking on the form of humanity made him not a distant observer to our pain, but a hands-on experiencer of it.
‘Recently, though, in my own season of trial, I have wondered, I have questioned whether Jesus ever experienced this particular wound that I feel,’ Savannah shared, referring to the ‘grievous and uniquely cruel injury of not known’ she is enduring.
The Guthrie family has offered a $1 million reward for information leading to the recovery of their mother.
Savannah previously said that she realizes Nancy may no longer be alive – but that if that is the case, she is still desperate for the return of her mother so she can give her a Christian burial.