NBC's "Today" show announced Friday that co-host Savannah Guthrie will be returning to the talk show next month – as the search for her missing mother is now nearly one-month old. 

Authorities are searching for 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, who was reported missing around noon Feb. 1 after she did not show up for virtual church services. She was last seen the previous night after having dinner at her daughter Annie Guthrie's home in Tucson, Arizona.

Guthrie is set to return April 6. 

“It’s hard to imagine doing it because it’s such a place of joy and lightness, and I can’t come back and try to be something that I’m not,” Guthrie said. “But 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,” she continued. 

Savannah Guthrie's last appearance on the morning program was Jan. 30, two days before her mother's disappearance.

The co-host's return comes as the public and Arizona residents grow frustrated with the slow progress of the case. No suspect has been arrested so far, though investigators believe Guthrie was abducted from her home by a masked man who was spotted on security footage. He has been described as "approximately 5’9 - 5’10 tall, with an average build." 

Anyone who has tips or information about the case is encouraged to call 911, the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI, or the Pima County Sheriff's Department at 520-351-4900.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.