US4 min(s) read
Published 10:20 12 Apr 2026 GMT
The secret three-word code that would take Savannah Guthrie off air immediately if a major development occurs in the case of her missing mother, Nancy, has been revealed.
The TV host's 84-year-old mother, Nancy, vanished without a trace from her Tucson home on February 1, just 70 miles from the Mexican border.
Since then, investigators have faced a stream of alarming leads, including messages from an anonymous tipster offering alleged information about her fate in exchange for bitcoin.
As the search continues, NBC has quietly prepared for the possibility that a breakthrough could come at any moment, even while the 54-year-old is live on air.
The Daily Mail reported that if a major update breaks while the Today show host is on air, a producer would tell her she is "needed off set" - a phrase she understands immediately.
"We would pull her immediately, mid-segment if we had to," the source told the outlet. "She knows if one of the producers tells her she’s ‘needed off set’ that there’s a development.
"She would understand that there was news about her mom and we’d take her into an office and tell her, at the same time that another anchor would report it as a breaking story."
They stressed the show would "never in a million years" ask Guthrie to report on her own mother’s case unless she chose to.
"Savannah understands that she has a public who is very invested in Nancy’s story, and understands that we wouldn’t necessarily wait for her to find out before reporting it," the source added.
The plan comes as a mysterious tipster continues to send messages about Nancy’s fate, including a new claim that she may still be alive.
On the same day Guthrie returned to the Today show, TMZ received a letter stating: "I saw her alive with them in the state of Sonora, Mexico."
The claim directly contradicts an earlier note from the same person, which said: "She is dead."
The anonymous source has repeatedly demanded bitcoin in exchange for information, initially asking for one bitcoin before dropping the price to half upfront, with the remainder due after a public arrest.
Despite the claims, police have been hesitant to act.
"It’s unbelievable that millions have been wasted and yet here I am willing to deliver them on a silver platter since the 11th of February for a bitcoin but I am disregarded as a scam… they are free and the case is frozen but the ego’s remain hot when it comes to me," the first letter reportedly stated.
In a later message, the tipster claimed their motives were not financial, adding: "I just want what's fair and to live peacefully with enough to start my life again quietly without having to join a witness protection program."
Guthrie made her return to air this week, after nearly two months away following her mother’s disappearance.
The network has continued to support Guthrie fully throughout the ordeal.
"If she isn’t feeling it, or needs more time off, she will be given it," the source said. "They would love to have Savannah back full time, but if she has to leave, they will allow her, but they anticipate she is back for good."
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