NBC said on Thursday that Savannah Guthrie, the longtime “Today” anchor, “plans to return” to the NBC morning franchise at some point. She visited the show’s offices in 30 Rockefeller Plaza on Thursday for the first time since the disappearance.
Ms. Guthrie has not been a part of the show since early February, when her mother, Nancy, went missing.
The network said that Ms. Guthrie wanted “to be with and thank her” colleagues at the “Today” show, who have been providing a steady stream of daily updates to viewers on the excruciating investigation of her missing mother.
Her visit to “Today” on Thursday was not televised, but Jenna Bush and Sheinelle Jones, the hosts of the fourth hour of the NBC morning franchise, discussed it on air.
“She said that she has the intention to return to the show even though it feels like the hardest thing to do,” Ms. Bush said. “It’s also her home and where she feels so loved, and she is beyond loved here.”
Ms. Guthrie has been with her family in Arizona since her mother disappeared, which has riveted the nation but continued to confound the authorities. The show has relied on substitute hosts, including Hoda Kotb, who retired from her duties as Ms. Guthrie’s co-anchor at “Today” early last year. Ms. Jones filled in for Ms. Guthrie on Thursday.
There have been questions within the television news industry in recent weeks about whether Ms. Guthrie would ever return to “Today.” NBC’s confirmation that Ms. Guthrie “plans to return” appears to put that speculation to rest, though without a definitive timeline.
Last week, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department in Arizona scaled back the number of detectives assigned to the investigation, with the department explaining that it was “refocusing resources.” NBC said on Thursday that Ms. Guthrie would keep “working to help bring Nancy home.”
John Koblin covers the television industry for The Times.
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