Savannah Guthrie's Eerie Confession: NBC Host Played 'Kidnapping Games' as a Child — Years Before Mom Nancy's 'Abduction'
'About once a year in the summertime, cousin Terry orchestrated a kidnapping of my sister and me,' Savannah Guthrie said in her book.
Feb. 18 2026, Published 12:04 p.m. ET
An eerie kidnapping confession Savannah Guthrie once made involving her mom, Nancy, has come to light as investigators continue to desperately search for the missing 84-year-old, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
What Did Savannah Guthrie Say?
Savannah Guthrie said her cousin 'orchestrated a kidnapping' game 'about once a year.'
Megyn Kelly revisited audio from Savannah's 2024 book in which she described a childhood kidnapping game her older cousin designed.
The game featured secrecy, an early morning escape, and a fake call home to tell her mother that "cousin Terry kidnapped me."
"About once a year in the summertime, cousin Terry orchestrated a kidnapping of my sister and me," Savannah wrote. "It went down like this. The cousins would visit for a few days at our house in Tucson. And then, on the morning they were due to leave, Terry would wake us up early, shushing us in the pre-dawn darkness as we made our escape."
"We would all pile into her rickety station wagon and head North, the sky streaking with bright oranges and pinks as the sun rose over the colorless desert landscape. Somewhere between Phoenix and Tucson, Terry would make a pitstop and let Annie and me call home at a payphone. 'Mom, cousin Terry kidnapped us to take us to her house.' My mother would feign in shock, protest how terribly she would miss us, then assure us she'd drive up to retrieve us in a few days."
What Happened to Nancy Guthrie?
Nancy Guthrie has been missing since February 1.
The audio is particularly unnerving given the current state of affairs with Nancy, who has been missing since February 1.
She was last seen on January 31 after having dinner with her daughter, Annie, and her son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni. He dropped her off at her home later that night and was the last person to see her before she disappeared.
The next morning, when Nancy didn't show up to a friend's house as she was expected to, her friend attempted to contact her. After failing, she called Annie. By the time Nancy's kids arrived at her house, she was gone, but her cellphone and wallet were left behind.
Is There a Suspect in the Nancy Guthrie Case?
A suspect in the Nancy Guthrie case has not been identified.
Although investigators have been desperately trying to find Nancy and figure out who seemingly kidnapped her, they have been unsuccessful on both fronts.
The only thing known about the suspect is from surveillance footage on Nancy's Nest camera from the day she was abducted, which showed a man wearing a mask, a glove, and appearing to have a gun in the holster of their belt.
A black glove found a few miles from Nancy's home offered up some hope, but after running the DNA through the CODIS system, no matches were found.
What Has Savannah Said?
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Savannah Guthrie said she and her siblings 'still believe' Nancy will be returned.
Savannah and her siblings have made many statements along the way via Instagram, trying to appeal to the abductor(s) to bring their mom home.
In her most recent post, shared on February 16, she begged the kidnappers to "do the right thing" and told them "it's never too late."
She also revealed she and her siblings "still have hope" Nancy will be returned.
"And I wanted to say to whoever has her or knows where she is that it's never too late, and you're not lost or alone, and it is never too late to do the right thing," she added. "We are here, and we believe, and we believe in the essential goodness of every human being, and it's never too late."
