As the search continues for the missing mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, NBC says veteran Olympic host Mary Carillo will replace Guthrie as co-host on Friday’s broadcast of the Winter Games opening ceremonies.

The mystery of Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance (investigators believe she was taken from her Arizona home against her will) has overshadowed what was anticipated to be a giant week for the television network.

The Olympic Games are one of the few events that still attract large and consistent audiences to television. Other notable draws include the Super Bowl, which NBC will televise this weekend.

Savannah Guthrie and her mother, Nancy Guthrie, photographed in 2023.
Savannah Guthrie and her mother, Nancy Guthrie, photographed in 2023.

NBC via Getty Images

Savannah Guthrie was scheduled to co-host the opening ceremony with Terry Gannon, but NBC said she would no longer travel to Italy due to the disappearance of her mother.

Carillo is a familiar face to people watching the Olympics (this will be her 17th Olympics) and will co-host with Gannon.

Carillo lived in Milan for two years as a child, NBC said. She has hosted closing ceremonies at three Olympic Games: in Salt Lake City in 2002, Beijing in 2008 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Guthrie’s “Today” show co-host Craig Melvin also will not go to Italy, NBC said. He was due to host the nightly broadcasts of the Olympics early next week, and Ahmed Fareed will replace him in that role.

NBC News has aggressively covered the story of Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance, but she wasn’t the only one. It was also the lead story on ABC’s “World News Tonight” on Tuesday.