Nancy Guthrie search highlights trauma of missing persons cases

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'The hope doesn't go away': Brother of missing woman, on Nancy Guthrie | NewsNation Live

(NewsNation) — The family of Nancy Guthrie still has no answers about what happened to her, an uncertainty mental health experts say can deepen trauma.

The search for the missing mother of NBC host Savannah Guthrie entered day 33 as the “Today” anchor returned to the set Friday for an off-camera meeting with staff.

“I wanted you to know that I’m still standing, and I still have hope, and I’m still me,” she told them, according to the “Today Show.”

“And I don’t know what version of me that will be, but it will be,” the journalist added.

Nancy Guthrie was reported missing Feb. 1, and authorities believe the 84-year-old was abducted from her home in the late night or early morning hours. Although multiple ransom notes have been found, Guthrie has still not been located.

Uncertainty over missing persons deepens trauma

The uncertainty surrounding a missing loved one can be especially painful, Emily Mellen, a clinical psychologist at Tufts Medical Center, told NewsNation.

“It’s a horrifying experience losing a loved one for any reason, but then when that loved one is a missing person, there’s also a lot of open and unanswered questions,” she said.

“I think something that families can struggle with the most is the uncertainty of that, because when you don’t know what has happened to your family member, then your brain goes down all of the possible paths of what could have happened to your family member, and you feel the emotional impact of all of those terrible things,” Mellen added.

Brad Bradley, whose sister Amy went missing during a 1998 family cruise, told NewsNation’s Marni Hughes, “hope doesn’t go away.”

“As unrealistic as it may be to some people that it’s possible that she’s still alive and still out there,” he said.

Bradley described the initial weeks following his sister’s disappearance as agonizing.

“You can’t eat, you can’t sleep, lots of anxiety, fear and loss of focus, and it’s a hard thing,” he said.

Mellen noted that families of missing persons often lack closure, making it difficult to begin grieving or healing.

Financial strain can also compound the trauma if families take time off work or spend personal funds to aid the search, she said.

How families of missing persons cope

Coping with the trauma often means focusing on the immediate moment rather than the bigger picture, Mellen said.

“That’s especially true when you have a missing persons case, where so much of the situation is uncertain, it makes it impossible to think about or plan for the future,” she added.

Savannah Guthrie told her colleagues on Friday that she plans to return to the “Today” show eventually.

“I have every intention of coming back,” she said. “I don’t know how to come back, but I don’t know how not to. You’re my family. And I would like to try.”

Mellen explained that returning to routines like work can help some people cope with trauma.

“It’s impossible to get this off your mind, but just having anything that feels a little bit less uncertain can certainly be soothing,” the expert said.

For some people, that might be work, while for others it could be exercise or other routines. But she noted that for some, returning to routine can feel overwhelming.

“It’s what is the best thing for that person at that time,” Mellen said.

Guthrie search ongoing

Last month, Savannah Guthrie issued another plea for her mother’s return, announcing a private $1 million reward alongside the FBI’s existing $100,000.

The FBI — which recently revealed footage captured from Guthrie’s surveillance camera — said the new reward has generated a surge of new tips in the case, with 1,500 rolling in nearly a month into the search.

Anyone with information can reach out at 1-800-CALL-FBI. Phoenix’s FBI office cautioned against using the tip line for sharing case theories or well-wishes.

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