Allison Janney used her moment in the Emmy press room to draw attention to a Tucson case that has haunted a family since February: the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie.
Janney, who won the Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series for her role in “The Diplomat” at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards on Monday, spoke about Nancy while talking with reporters backstage.
“I honestly can say I think about her every day, and think about the loss and what Savannah and her family are going through,” Janney said. “I don’t think I’m alone. I think all of America is thinking about her.”
Savannah Guthrie later addressed the moment during an emotional segment on “Today.”
“I was so touched to see her do that,” Savannah said. “It was her moment, her triumph. For her to sit and just take a moment to think about our family — it meant so much.”
She said she uses every available opportunity to keep her mother’s case in public view.
“I never let a moment pass if I get one to talk about my mom, how much I miss her and love her,” she said. “My whole family is in such pain. We need help.” “Thank you, Allison Janney, for remembering us and giving me an opportunity to renew that call,” Savannah continued. “We just want our mom home to give her a proper goodbye. That’s all.”
What happened in Tucson
Nancy Guthrie was taken from her home in Tucson’s Catalina Foothills neighborhood in the early hours of Feb. 1, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI. She was last seen there just before 10 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 31, when a relative dropped her off.
The home’s doorbell camera recorded a masked intruder disconnecting the cameras at approximately 1:47 a.m. on Feb. 1. At 2:28 a.m., her pacemaker lost its Bluetooth connection to her cellphone, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.
In July, six months after the suspected abduction, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department released a series of ransom notes tied to the case. Around the same time, Savannah Guthrie posted a public appeal on Instagram marking six months since her mother was reported missing.
“This is our beautiful Mom. Six months ago, someone took her out of her bed in the dead of night. We have lived every moment, every breath, and every heartbeat in agony and despair ever since,” she wrote.
In that post, she named family members affected by the ongoing search — “Cam and Kristine, Annie and Tommy, Mike and me” — and wrote that they think of Nancy constantly.
“There is a hole inside us that can never be filled,” Savannah wrote. “There is an ache that cannot be softened. And there is a determination in us that cannot be quenched — to find out what happened to her, so that we can give her the dignity of a proper goodbye — a celebration of her remarkable life that she so deserves.”
She directly appealed to anyone with information about the case, including whoever wrote the ransom notes.
“We are begging for help. We are desperate,” the post continued. “We need someone to come forward. Someone knows something. Someone suspects something. Someone recognizes the writing in the ransom demand notes.”
Savannah Guthrie noted that tips can be submitted anonymously and that a reward remains available, and asked the public to treat the case with the seriousness it deserves rather than as entertainment.
“If you are following this story for entertainment or for profit, you are not on her side — you are part of the harm perpetrated against her,” she wrote. “We will never stop looking for answers — and we will never stop looking for the light. Please. Bring her home.”
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