An emotional Mike Tirico said he has felt a ‘pit in the stomach’ ever since learning that the elderly mother of his NBC colleague, Savannah Guthrie, has gone missing.
The Today show anchor Guthrie, 54, was set to co-host the opening ceremony for the network in Milan, Italy, on February 4 but has withdrawn from covering the Games.
Her mother Nancy, 84, was last seen at her $1million house in Tucson, Arizona, where she lives alone, at around 9.45pm on Saturday before she was mysteriously kidnapped.
Family members then reported her missing after she failed to appear for Sunday church services.
Speaking at a Super Bowl press conference on Tuesday Tirico, who will head straight to Italy from San Francisco after calling football’s showpiece game, said he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about how Guthrie must be feeling.
‘My heart’s breaking – our hearts are breaking. It has been a pit in the stomach in the 36 hours since we found out. Just can’t believe the situation,’ he said.
Police are hunting to find the missing mother of Today show presenter Savannah Guthrie
Mike Tirico was expecting to work with Guthrie at the Winter Olympics, after the Super Bowl
‘I’ve been lucky enough to work multiple Olympics with Savannah and to get to know the Today show team.
‘I just hold those people in the highest professional and personal regard, those people are special people.
‘We are just heartbroken and devastated and praying for Savannah and her entire family through this time.
‘This is a time for caring about the people in your family and we are holding Savannah near and dear in our heart.
‘If you do pray, pray for them. They are special people.’
As Tirico spoke, the hunt to find her took another dramatic twist on Tuesday, with investigators now probing possible ransom notes.
Pima County Sheriff’s Office acknowledged a ransom note sent to TMZ on Tuesday afternoon, three days after she was snatched from her $1million home and triggering a desperate search.
Tucson TV station KOLD said it had also received a ransom note. It is unclear if both notes are the same.
Tirico paid an emotional tribute to Guthrie from the Super Bowl, held in San Francisco
TMZ reported that the note, which it said it could not verify as being sent by the abductors, demanded millions in Bitcoin for the release of the 84-year-old.
The outlet said that the note demanded the Bitcoin be sent to a specific cryptocurrency address, which it has verified as a real Bitcoin address.
The note concluded with a deadline for the ransom to be paid ‘or else’.
