Savannah Guthrie has taken a well-deserved day off from Today following a challenging week.
Instead, Laura Jarrett filled in for her, revealing that both Savannah and her co-star Craig Melvin - who was subbed by Garrett Haake - were getting a "head start" to the weekend.
On June 22, some content from Nancy Guthrie's alleged kidnapper's second note was made public for the first time, including a line indicating that the 84-year-old had died.
© NBCCraig led the news story and spoke with NBC News correspondent Liz Kreutz, who has been reporting on the story from the beginning.
The show then cut back to the Today studios, where Savannah was seated in the middle of the table, joined by co-stars Craig, Jenna Bush Hager, Carson Daly, and Al Roker, who all dressed in black.
Understandably, the segment was particularly difficult for Savannah. Craig told her: "The bravery and courage of which you have done this job every day since that happened is nothing short of remarkable."
© NBCShe replied: "I love you guys, and I love this place and this is unusual and unprecedented. I don't have any comment on this story and I'm not involved in our coverage, but I can't pretend I'm not here and so since I am, I wanted to just take that opportunity to ask people to come forward," she said.
"Someone knows something. And this story today is a news story on your radar but this is the life my sister lives, that I live, that my brother lives, that our extended families live, that our children live, every day.
© NBC"And we are in agony. We cannot be in peace, however much I try to come out here every day, and I will find that joy, I promise I will. But we need your help. We are begging for your help and I'm not going to miss that opportunity.
"If you are watching, the reward is there, you can tell us. It can be anonymous. Please do the right thing for us, for our children. We love our mom and we will never stop looking for her."
Savannah herself believes the notes to be credible, something she addressed back in March during her sit-down interview with Hoda Kotb.
Nancy was last seen on January 31 and is believed to have been taken against her will from her home in Tucson, Arizona, in the early hours of February 1. Savannah took over two months off work to be with her family, but returned to Today on April 6.
The long-running anchor opened up about her mother's disappearance to her co-star Jenna Bush-Hager on June 8th's Today Show. "I cry every morning on the way to work and I cry on the way home," she said as she fought back tears. "I'm grateful to have good friends, and to be able to come to such a beautiful and joyous place."
© Instagram"I can't really look at you without crying. You are my best friend and it is really hard to come back and I've been trying so hard to hold it together. I promise I will," she added.
She told Jenna: "When I see you in the morning, I know you see me. No matter what. You are my family." Savannah explained that her Today family are so supportive. "I don't think if I had another type of job I would have been able to come back," she said.
