{"id":2214,"date":"2026-02-03T16:19:59","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T16:19:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/media\/?p=2214"},"modified":"2026-02-03T16:19:59","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T16:19:59","slug":"savannah-guthrie-pulls-out-of-2026-winter-olympics-coverage-amid-mothers-suspected-abduction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/media\/sports-media\/savannah-guthrie-pulls-out-of-2026-winter-olympics-coverage-amid-mothers-suspected-abduction\/","title":{"rendered":"Savannah Guthrie Pulls Out of 2026 Winter Olympics Coverage Amid Mother’s Suspected Abduction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Savannah Guthrie, the beloved co-anchor of NBC’s Today<\/em> show, has been forced to step away from her high-profile role in covering the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy, due to a deeply personal and distressing family emergency. What was meant to be a celebratory trip to host the Opening Ceremony has instead become a time of anguish as Guthrie focuses on the urgent search for her missing 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie. Guthrie was scheduled to fly to Italy on Monday, February 2, 2026, to prepare for NBC’s extensive coverage of the Winter Games, which run from February 6 to 22.<\/p>\n

Why Guthrie is not working the Olympics<\/h2>\n

She had been tapped to co-host the Opening Ceremony at San Siro Stadium in Milan on Friday, February 6, alongside veteran sports commentator Terry Gannon and three-time Olympic gold medalist Shaun White. This would have marked her fourth time hosting Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a role she has embraced with enthusiasm since adding Olympic duties to her resume. Additionally, Guthrie was set to anchor NBC’s first night of prime-time Olympics coverage, filling in for regular host Mike Tirico<\/a>, who is committed to Super Bowl duties in California.<\/p>\n

The Today<\/em> show, which traditionally relocates to the Olympic host site for extended broadcasts, would have featured Guthrie prominently throughout the Games. Those plans changed dramatically over the weekend when Nancy Guthrie, who lives alone in the Catalina Foothills area outside Tucson, Arizona, was reported missing. Family members last saw her around 9:30\u20139:45 p.m. on Saturday, January 31, after dropping her off at home following dinner. When she failed to appear at church the next morning, Sunday, February 1, concerns escalated. Family searched her home and property for nearly an hour before contacting authorities around noon.<\/p>\n

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has described the situation as alarming, stating that Nancy Guthrie\u2014described as sharp-minded but with limited mobility and reliant on daily medication\u2014was taken from her bed against her will in what investigators believe was a possible abduction or kidnapping overnight.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Feb. 3, law enforcement sources told the Los Angeles Times<\/a> that blood and signs of forced entry were discovered at the Tucson home, and it had been designated a crime scene, with evidence suggesting she did not leave voluntarily. Officials emphasized the urgency, noting that without her essential medication, her condition could become life-threatening after more than 24 hours. Search efforts have involved drones, dogs, volunteers, Border Patrol assistance, and even FBI support, though the focus has shifted toward treating it as a criminal investigation rather than a standard search and rescue.<\/p>\n

Support from inside NBC<\/h3>\n

The news reverberated through NBC’s newsroom, where Guthrie is a 19-year veteran, having joined the Today show in 2011 and ascending to co-anchor in 2012. Co-hosts on Today shared the sheriff’s tip line (520-351-4900) across broadcasts and social media, mobilizing viewers to help.<\/p>\n

Anchor Tom Llamas led NBC Nightly News<\/em> on Monday with the story, calling it one that “hits too close to home” and relaying the sheriff’s details about the abduction from bed. He highlighted Nancy Guthrie’s influence on her daughter, teaching her the power of prayer during tough times.<\/p>\n

In a heartfelt Instagram post Monday night, Savannah Guthrie, absent from Today<\/em> on both Monday and Tuesday, expressed profound gratitude for the outpouring of support while pleading for continued prayers. Sharing an image with the message “Please pray,” she wrote: “We believe in prayer. We believe in voices raised in unison, in love, in hope. We believe in goodness. We believe in humanity. Above all, we believe in Him.”<\/p>\n

She described her mother as “a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant,” urging followers to “raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment. We need you.”<\/p>\n

An NBC spokesperson declined to comment on specific broadcast changes, but sources confirmed Guthrie will not participate in the Opening Ceremony telecast or other planned Olympic coverage. Her priority remains in Tucson, supporting the investigation and hoping for her mother’s safe return.<\/p>\n

This unfolding crisis underscores the personal toll that public figures can face amid professional commitments. As the world anticipates the spectacle of the Winter Olympics, the absence of one of television’s most recognizable faces serves as a poignant reminder of family priorities in the face of unimaginable hardship. The thoughts and prayers of many remain with the Guthrie family during this difficult time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Savannah Guthrie, the beloved co-anchor of NBC’s Today show, has been forced to step away from her high-profile role in covering the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy, due to a deeply personal and distressing family emergency. What was meant to be a celebratory trip to host the Opening Ceremony has instead become […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5665,"featured_media":2216,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[277,264,238],"tags":[75],"class_list":["post-2214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nbcsn","category-news","category-sports-media","tag-featured"],"modified_by":"Steve Carney","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5665"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2214"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2215,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2214\/revisions\/2215"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}