Savannah Guthrie returned to the TODAY show earlier this month on Monday, April 6. This came two months after her mother Nancy Guthrie, 84, was kidnapped from her home in Tucson, Arizona. Sadly, Nancy remains missing, and the search for her continues.
This week, insiders are speaking out to claim that NBC has offered Savannah, 54, extra security. Indeed, network executives reportedly offered round-the-clock personal protection. This would include a dedicated guard inside 30 Rock and Studio 1A.
Savannah ‘Not Giving Up Her Normal Life’
Savannah, however, declined their offer, as she is determined not to give up “her normal life.”
“She wants to walk in, do her job, and not feel surrounded by fear,” an insider told Rob Shuter’s Naughty But Nice Substack.
“She’s protected, but she’s not giving up her normal life,” the source continued. “There is no private, dedicated security just for Savannah inside her office. That was her decision.”
The insider went on to say that Savannah doesn’t “want a bodyguard sitting outside her office or walking her through the halls” because she wants “to feel normal at work.”
Just because Savannah declined this personal security offer, however, does not mean that NBC hasn’t increased security in general.
“There is extra security at the show and throughout NBC right now,” the insider explained. “The building is locked down tighter than usual. Access is stricter than ever. No pass, no entry — no exceptions.”
The source added that “even longtime staff are being turned away if they don’t follow protocol.”
Nancy Goes Missing
Nancy Guthrie was last seen on the night of Saturday, January 31. That evening, she had dinner with her daughter Annie and son-in-law Tommaso Cioni. They dropped her off at her home afterwards at around 9:45pm, and she tragically hasn’t been seen since.
A masked intruder was captured on Nancy’s doorbell ring camera in the early hours of February 1. He managed to cover the camera with some plants before moving forward with the kidnapping.
It has since been revealed that the masked man had been seen in the doorbell ring camera prior to the night Nancy was taken. This indicates that he may have been casing out her home.
Ex-FBI Agent Weighs In
This week, the former FBI agent Steve Moore told News Nation that Nancy’s kidnappers or the people who have sent ransom notes have been “acting in bad faith” from the start.
“They would provide no proof of life, they didn’t take Nancy’s safety into consideration, according to physical evidence at the scene,” he said. “Everything that they did was in bad faith.”
Steve then said that one of the issues that made them seem less than serious was that the ransom letters were sent to multiple media outlets, including TMZ. According to him, this made it clear that whoever was behind the notes wanted the negotiations to be public. The FBI, however, was not having any of it.
“They weren’t going to play the game where someone dictated the terms,” Steve said of the FBI.
This has clearly been a nightmarishly difficult time for Savannah and her entire family. Please join us in saying a prayer for them, and for the return of Nancy Guthrie.