Mike Tirico urges prayer for Savannah Guthrie: ‘We’re just crushed’

Mike Tirico is requesting prayers from everyone as his NBC colleague Savannah Guthrie continues the desperate search for her missing mother.

Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today host Savannah Guthrie was reported missing from her Tucson, Arizona home Sunday afternoon. The 84-year-old is believed to have been abducted.

Amid the ongoing tragedy, Guthrie has not appeared on Today this week, and she will not be making the trip to Italy to host the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Olympics alongside Terry Gannon and Shaun White as previously planned. NBC has announced Mary Carillo will replace Guthrie on their Opening Ceremony coverage.

Tirico, who will not be hosting the Opening Ceremony as he calls the Super Bowl for NBC from Santa Clara, California, Sunday night, will be making the trip to Italy shortly after the game. During a recent appearance on Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo’s SiriusXM Radio show, Tirico was asked about his travel plans which remained up in the air as the network continues to focus on filling Guthrie’s void. And while addressing Guthrie’s unexpected absence, Tirico urged everyone to say a prayer for his colleague and her family.

“Savannah Guthrie was supposed to host Monday night as we were traveling over. And I can’t tell you how gut-wrenching and heartbreaking this week has been for any of us in the NBC family, people who know Savannah,” Tirico told Russo. “I had the chance to do multiple opening ceremonies with her, anchor the Today show with her for a week, see her at all these events that Today show comes to. And we’re just crushed and thinking and praying for them every minute. If prayer is part of your life, anybody who’s listening, please include the Guthrie family in your thoughts because Savannah is as nice a person as she is on TV.”

As of Friday morning, there are no suspects or persons of interest in the case of Guthrie’s missing mother. Guthrie’s family has made two separate pleas in response to alleged ransom letters, requesting the apparent kidnapper to make contact to prove the 84-year-old is still alive.