How Hoda Kotb Is Finding Hope for Nancy Guthrie In a Different Missing Persons Case
What To Know
- Hoda Kotb is drawing hope for missing Nancy Guthrie by highlighting the 2022 abduction and eventual rescue of Sister Suellen Tennyson.
- Tennyson survived five months in captivity before returning home and eventually passing away peacefully last year.
- Guthrie disappeared from her Tucson home on January 31, and her family are offering a $1 million reward for information about her whereabouts.
As the investigation into Nancy Guthrie‘s disappearance passes the one-month mark, Hoda Kotb is finding hope in a similar case from a few years ago.
In a Monday, March 2, Instagram Story post, Kotb shared a video uploaded by her friend Karen Swensen about the 2022 abduction of Sister Suellen Tennyson. “A story of hope,” Swensen wrote alongside a photo of the nun in her Monday Instagram upload. “In 2022, Sr. Suellen Tennyson, at the age of 83, was kidnapped from her bed in the middle of the night. No glasses, no shoes, no medicine.”
Swensen’s video went on to share that Tennyson was “held captive in the desert for five months” until she was eventually “rescued and returned home.” Tennyson “died peacefully three years later.”
Swensen continued, “Because of the similarities between Sr. Suellen and Nancy Guthrie, we are asking Sr. Suellen to intercede. If you are so inclined, please join us.” Swensen’s post ended with a screenshot of a prayer for Nancy’s safe return.
Kotb previously reposted another of Swensen’s Instagram posts from when Sr. Suellen initially went missing. “Please stop and PRAY or send positive thoughts for the safe rescue of Sr. Suellen Tennyson, a Marianite nun kidnapped in Burkina Faso, Africa,” Swensen captioned a photo of herself and the late nun in April 2022. “She has been a dear, dear friend for 25 years. (Second picture includes the 2 other nuns who were attacked. Only Sr. Suellen was kidnapped but we pray for the rescue and safety of all!).”
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Tennyson’s rescue was confirmed in August 2022. She later died at the age of 86 in April 2025.
Nancy, who is 84, was last seen at her Tucson, Arizona, home on January 31 and was reported missing the next day. Like Tennyson, Nancy likely lacks access to vital medication for her health and well-being.
Savannah Guthrie and her family have been cleared as suspects in the investigation, but authorities have yet to name any official persons of interest. Officials are looking into multiple pieces of evidence, including details from the video of a masked and armed figure captured on Nancy’s home security cameras.
In a February 24 Instagram video, Savannah acknowledged that her mother may already be “gone,” and announced that her family is offering a “reward of up to $1 million for any information that leads us to her recovery.”
She continued, “Someone out there knows something that can bring her home. Somebody knows, and we are begging you to please come forward now. … Help us bring our beloved mom home so that we can either celebrate a glorious, miraculous, homecoming, or celebrate the beautiful, brave, and courageous and noble life that she has lived. Please be the light in the dark.”
Kotb has filled in for Savannah on NBC’s Today, but was absent from the show’s Tuesday, March 3, episode.
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