Savannah Guthrie Takes Brief Leave From "Today" Amid Ongoing Mother Kidnapping Investigation

Savannah Guthrie missed her second consecutive day on NBC's "Today" on Thursday, with Laura Jarrett stepping in alongside Craig Melvin after Sheinelle Jones covered the previous day. Sources familiar with the situation told TMZ that Guthrie is taking a short break to be with family and that her absence is not connected to the investigation into her mother, Nancy Guthrie, who vanished from her Arizona home on Jan. 31.

The case remains classified as a kidnapping for ransom, and the FBI continues to assess multiple ransom notes received during the probe. An FBI spokesperson in Phoenix said, "The FBI and its task force partners have received several ransom notes over the course of this investigation. Some have been deemed to be extortion attempts without legitimacy. Other ransom demands may potentially be legitimate and are still being investigated as such."

Law enforcement officials have indicated that at least two of the notes appear to have credibility, while others are considered fraudulent. TMZ reported receiving numerous emails from an individual claiming knowledge of the kidnappers and demanding Bitcoin payments for information, including alleged details about a hidden phone containing related media.