As Peter Alexander prepared to sign off from Saturday Today for the last time, he offered a solemn message to Savannah Guthrie amid her mom’s continued disappearance.
“We’re in the business of using words, [but] I got no words to describe what this place has meant to me,” Alexander, 49, said during the Saturday, March 28, broadcast. “NBC is at my core, through and through. I love everybody here. I wish everyone continued success.”
Alexander, who joined NBC News as a TV journalist in 2004, further noted that he “had a chance” to speak with Guthrie, 54, before his departure.
“I had a chance to exchange messages with our friend Savannah, who I love so much,” Alexander added. “I’m thrilled that she’s going to come back here, and we’ll continue to pray for her.”
Savannah, who hosts the weekday iteration of Today, took a step from the morning show in February days after her mom, Nancy Guthrie, was reported missing in Arizona. Savannah will return to the NBC morning show beginning Monday, April 6.
“When I look at the Today show, it’s the answer to all of my dreams, actually better than my dreams,” Savannah said during a Today sit-down with Hoda Kotb that aired Friday, March 27. “It’s hard to imagine doing it because it’s such a place of joy and lightness. I can’t come back and try to be something that I’m not.”
She continued, “I can’t not come back because it’s my family. I think it’s part of my purpose right now. I want to smile, and when I do, it will be real. And my joy will be my protest. My joy will be my answer.”
Local Arizona police are still investigating Nancy’s whereabouts nearly one month since she was first reported missing. Savannah and her siblings, Annie and Camron, have since relied on their faith while continuing to seek updates about their 84-year-old mother’s disappearance and possible kidnapping.
Savannah Guthrie. Art Streiber/NBCUniversal
“My faith is strong and resolute. I early on felt — and I heard for one of the very few times in my life — I did hear God speak to me,” Savannah told Kotb, 61. “As I said to myself, ‘I can handle anything, God. I can handle anything, I just can’t handle not knowing. I have to know.’ I heard a voice and it said, ‘You do know where she is — she’s with me.’”
Savannah acknowledged that she wasn’t sure whether Nancy was “on this earth still” or “in heaven,” she wants to find peace.
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“We need to know. Someone needs to do the right thing. We are in agony. It is unbearable. And to think of what she went through,” Savannah tearfully stated. “I wake up every night in the middle of the night. Every night. And in the darkness, I imagine her terror. And it is unthinkable. She needs to come home now.”
Alexander, who decided to leave NBC to spend more time with his wife and daughters, shared footage of Saturday’s broadcast to his Instagram page. Savannah responded in the comments section.
“The pro of all pros. And what a heart,” Savannah commented. “We love you Peter ❤️.”
