Kotb previously left her permanent post on “Today” in early 2025.

Hoda Kotb returns to Today show during Savannah Guthrie’s absence amid search for missing mother

Kotb previously left her permanent post on "Today" in early 2025.

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February 6, 2026 10:57 a.m. ET

Hoda Kotb in 2024; Savannah Guthrie in 2022. Credit:

John Nacion/FilmMagic; Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty

Former morning show staple Hoda Kotb has returned to the *Today* show as the NBC program's on-camera family reels in the wake of Savannah Guthrie's absence amid the host's ongoing search for her missing mother.

Nearly one week after Guthrie's 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie, was reported to have been taken from her Arizona home against her will, Kotb returned to *Today* on Friday to introduce a segment about the ongoing search efforts to locate Nancy.

"I think there's this helpless feeling. We're all so close with her and we all want to help her," Kotb, who left her permanent post on *Today* in early 2025, said after the segment played inside Studio 1A in New York City.

Hoda Kotb returns to 'Today' amid Savannah Guthrie's absence on Feb. 6, 2026.

She then turned her attention toward the current panel of cohosts, telling them, "I'm looking at us and I was thinking, who was first in the hospital when Hope was sick? Savannah," she said, referencing her own daughter's health and the support Guthrie showed to her as her colleague cared for the child.

"She was there," Kotb stressed, as the other panelists — including Carson Daly, Sheinelle Jones, and Craig Melvin — fought back tears. "I was thinking, they say love is patient, love is kind. Put prayers up, that's all we can do."

Authorities give update on Savannah Guthrie's missing mom, offer $50K reward: 'We want Nancy back'

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"It’s just that feeling of helplessness,” Melvin noted. “And we’re not helpless because it’s prayer and hope."

On the other side of the country from the *Today* studio, the search continues for Nancy throughout Arizona.

On Thursday, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos announced that blood initially found on Nancy's porch just outside Tucson, Ariz., belonged to the missing woman — after previously noting that the scene was "very concerning" to authorities.**

"The only DNA evidence we got back is on the porch," Nanos told reporters at a conference. "We saw the importance of that blood. It came back to Nancy."

Other available information includes authorities believing that Nancy arrived to her home at around 9:48 p.m., and reportedly closed her garage door at 9:50 p.m. local time. They noted that, at 1:47 a.m., her doorbell camera was disconnected, and around 45 minutes later, her pacemaker lost communication from her cell phone.

Savannah and her family also released a tearful video pleading for Nancy's return.

"Our mom is our heart and our home," Savannah said in the clip. "She's 84 years old. Her health, her heart is fragile. She lives in constant pain. She is without any medicine. She needs it to survive. She needs it not to suffer."

A public information officer previously told ** that, "Sheriff Nanos has stated that he believes a crime has been committed. At this point, investigators believe she was taken from the home against her will, possibly in the middle of the night. Taken against her will includes possible kidnapping or abduction."

Additionally, a $50,000 reward is currently offered for any "information leading to the recovery of Nancy Guthrie and or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance," per authorities.**

Watch a portion of Kotb's return to *Today* in the video above.

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