Savannah Guthrie Says She Wishes to Give Missing Mom Nancy a 'Proper Goodbye' in Emotional 'Today' Show Plea: 'We're in Such Pain'

Savannah Guthrie got emotional during the Tuesday, September 15, episode of the Today show where she recapped the 2026 Emmy Awards and also discussed her missing mom, Nancy.

In response to an interview actress Allison Janney gave backstage after the awards show, the news anchor shared she hopes her family can give her mom a "proper goodbye."

“I honestly can say I think about her every day and think about the loss and what Savannah and her family are going through,” Janney, 66, shared in the press room on Monday, September 14, after she won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for The Diplomat.

“It truly just took over. I don’t think I’m alone too. I think all of America was thinking about her," she added about Savannah, 54.

During the Today show, Savannah praised the I, Tonya star for her kind words, saying: "I was so touched to see her do that. It was her moment of her triumph and for her to sit and just take a moment and think about our family.”

“I never let a moment pass, if I get one, to talk about my mom and how much we miss her and love her, my whole family, my sister and my brother and I and all of our extended families, we’re in such pain," Savannah weeped.

"We need help. So thank you, Allison Janney, for remembering us and for giving an opportunity for me to renew that call," she added.

“We just want our mom home, give her a proper goodbye. That’s all," the journalist sobbed. Weatherman Al Roker also chimed in with his thoughts, noting: “And Allison Janney speaks for almost everybody out there in America. We appreciate her bringing that to us.”

Nancy went missing on February 1 from her Tucson, Ariz., home after she failed to show up for church services. Savannah took a hiatus from hosting Today for two months and eventually returned to the table in April.

The Australian-born newswoman shared with cohost Hoda Kotb earlier this year about the pain she felt going back to work following her mom's abduction.

“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,” she said at the time. “But I can’t not come back because it’s my family.”

During a September 10 episode of Today, Savannah referred to Nancy in the past tense in a rare comment. She reflected on her mother's heritage after the morning show's hosts announced a series of live broadcasts will take place in Ireland.

"My mother’s family — my mother was Irish, [as was] her grandmother," Savannah said. “They were from Galway.”