Savannah Guthrie Breaks Down Over Fears Mom Nancy Was Targeted Because of Her

Savannah Guthrie is broken-hearted at the possibility that her mother, Nancy Guthrie, may have been targeted due to her fame as a TODAY show star.

Savannah sat down with longtime friend and colleague Hoda Kotb for her first interview since her 84-year-old mother was reported missing on Feb. 1, breaking down in tears as she addressed the possible motive behind her abduction.

“I don’t know that it’s because she’s my mom and somebody thought, ‘Oh, that girl— that lady has money. We can … make a quick buck.’ I mean, that would make sense,” Savannah said in the first part of her sit-down, which aired on Thursday’s episode of the NBC morning show. “But we don’t know. Which is too much to bear, to think that I brought this to her bedside. That it’s because of me.”

Savannah says that it was her brother who “saw very clearly right away what this was,” recalling, “Even on the phone when I called him, he knew. He said, ‘I think she’s been kidnapped for ransom.’ And I said, ‘What? Well, why? What?’”

“It sounds so, like, how dumb could I be? But I just — I didn’t wanna believe,” she continued. “I just said, ‘Do you think because of me?’ And he said, ‘I’m sorry, sweetie, but yeah, maybe.’ But I knew that.”

Through tears, Savannah said, “I’d just say, ‘I’m so sorry, Mommy. I’m so sorry.’ I’m sorry to my sister and my brother and my kids and my nephew and Tommy, my brother-in-law. If it is me, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said in a March 12 interview with NBC News that investigators believe they know the motive for Nancy’s abduction, but did not share that motive with the public. “We believe we know why [the kidnapper] did this and we believe that it was targeted, but we’re not 100% sure of that,” Nanos said at the time. “I think day one, we had some strong beliefs about what happened, and those beliefs haven’t diminished.”

Savannah stressed during Thursday’s interview that her family cannot be at peace until they know what happened to her mom, saying, “We cannot be at peace without knowing. And someone can do the right thing. And it is never too late to do the right thing. And our hearts are focused on that.”

Nancy was reported missing on Feb. 1 after last being seen by her family the prior night. Police and the FBI have been investigating the identity of a masked and armed person who appeared on Nancy’s doorbell camera prior to her abduction.

The Guthrie family is offering a $1 million reward for Nancy’s return, and the FBI is offering an additional $100,000 reward. People who have information about Nancy’s abduction or whereabouts are asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI.

The rest of Savannah’s interview will air on Friday.