Sheinelle Jones stands by Savannah Guthrie amid mother’s disappearance

The Today show family has rallied around Savannah Guthrie as authorities continue investigating the disappearance of her mother, Nancy Guthrie, who is believed to have been kidnapped from her Arizona home.

During Thursday’s broadcast, Feb. 5, co-host Sheinelle Jones spoke emotionally about the support being extended to Guthrie and her family amid the ongoing search for Nancy, 84. 

The show also highlighted candlelight vigils held in Nancy’s honor and an emotional video plea released a day earlier by Savannah and her siblings, Annie and Camron.

“It was great seeing that kind of outpouring of love and support and prayer — not just in Tucson, but here in New York,” Craig Melvin said on air, noting that strangers have approached the Today team in recent days asking how they can help.

“How can we help?” Jones echoed.

Jones, who lost her husband, Uche Ojeh, to brain cancer in May 2025, reflected on the power of community during moments of crisis.

“When there’s collective prayer or collective thoughts, it’s almost like it carries you,” she said. “If you can’t do it yourself, people will carry you. And that’s what we’re doing. We’re wrapping our arms around their entire family, and we’re carrying them.”

The Today show team also urged viewers to take action, encouraging anyone with information related to Nancy’s disappearance to contact the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

In the emotional video released Wednesday evening, Savannah, 54, and her siblings described their mother as a “kind, faithful, loyal, fiercely loving woman of goodness and light.” 

Fighting back tears, Savannah addressed Nancy’s potential abductor directly, asking for proof that her mother is alive.

“We need to know without a doubt that she is alive and that you have her,” Savannah said. “We want to hear from you and we are ready to listen. Please, reach out to us.”

Authorities believe Nancy was taken from her home over the weekend and was first reported missing on Sunday, Feb. 1. Investigators have not identified a suspect, and the FBI has since joined the search.

Jones has previously spoken about Guthrie’s support during her own family’s darkest moments, recalling how her Today co-host showed up during her husband’s hospitalization.

“She just really wrapped her arms around me,” Jones told PEOPLE in an earlier interview. “She rushed in, prayed with my family, and stayed connected. That bond never left.”