Nancy Guthrie Case: Retired FBI Agent Says Savannah’s Yellow ‘Today’ Outfit Is a Message

Savannah Guthrie
NBC News YouTube

What To Know

  • Savannah Guthrie returned to the Today show after a two-month hiatus following the presumed abduction of her 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie.
  • Wearing a yellow dress, Savannah joined others using yellow as a symbol of hope and solidarity during the ongoing search.
  • Retired FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer interpreted Savannah’s choice of yellow attire as a message of defiance to the suspected kidnapper.

Savannah Guthrie returned to the Today show on Monday morning (April 6) after a two-month hiatus amid the presumed abduction of her 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie.

“Good morning, welcome to Today on this Monday morning, we are so glad you started your week with us, and it’s good to be home,” Savannah said at the top of Monday’s show. Her co-host, Craig Melvin, told her it was “good to have you back at home. So good to have you back.”

Nancy has been missing since January 31, when police believe she was abducted from her home in Tucson, Arizona. Since then, investigators have released doorbell camera footage of a masked suspect and shared a description of the potential abductor. No suspects have been named.

While Savannah didn’t speak about her mother’s disappearance on her return to Today, she was wearing a yellow dress. Yellow has become a symbol of hope amid the search for Nancy, with friends, family, and neighbors leaving yellow flowers around Nancy’s home. NBC anchors and reporters have also worn yellow ribbon pins in solidarity.

Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin

NBC News YouTube

Savannah’s good friend and former co-host, Hoda Kotb, who filled in for Savannah during her hiatus, previously explained the meaning behind the influx of yellow. “We got a suggestion from one of our viewers, and we’re doing the same here,” she said on the February 18 episode. “We have yellow roses around Studio 1A, and we’re all wearing ribbons as we send our love to Savannah and her family.”

Retired FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer, who has been closely following the case online, said that Savannah’s return to the Today show, and specifically wearing a yellow dress, was a message of defiance for the masked suspect caught on Nancy’s doorbell camera.

“Savannah returned with lots of yellow and lots of smiles. She hasn’t missed a beat,” Coffindaffer wrote on X on Monday. “It’s good to see that while Porch Guy to [sic] her mother, he did not take her spirit. Porch Guy, you did not win.”

Elsewhere on Monday’s Today, Savannah greeted fans outside 30 Rockefeller Plaza, thanking them for their support. “These signs are so beautiful. You guys have been so beautiful,” she stated. “I received so many letters, so much kindness, to me and my whole family. We feel it. We feel your prayers, so thank you so much.”

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