Savannah Guthrie is taking another short break from the "Today" show desk.
The longstanding "Today" show host, who previously stepped away for two weeks in September, has missed the last two broadcasts of the weekday talk show. She was last seen on Thursday, Oct. 8.
In her absence, Craig Melvin ran the Monday, Oct. 12 episode, alongside "Today" weekend co-anchor Laura Jarrett. During the broadcast, Melvin said Guthrie, 54, would return to the show on Tuesday, Oct. 13, though he did not give a reason for her absence.
USA TODAY has reached out to representatives at the "Today" show but did not receive a response.
In addition to Guthrie, Al Roker was also out on Oct. 12, with television meterologist Dylan Dreyer filling in for him.
Savannah Guthrie absences follow Nancy Guthrie's disappearance
Viewers have paid
close attention to the television journalist's whereabouts ever since her mother Nancy Guthrie was reported missing from her Tucson, Arizona, home on Feb. 1. In the immediate aftermath of the news, Savannah Guthrie stepped away from the "Today" show for two months to focus on her family.
The FBI released images in February of an armed person at Nancy Guthrie's front door tampering with the camera prior to her disappearance. The suspect in the photos has yet to be identified. Law enforcement say Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will.
In July, Savannah Guthrie made an emotional plea in an Instagram video, and said her "family is in agony" and asked listeners to "help us find her."
"We are in a nightmare that will not end; nothing about our situation has changed," she said in the video. "We will never stop looking for her. We will always ache for her and feel that hole in our hearts."
Savannah Guthrie mom update
Earlier this month,a former FBI agent determined the four ransom emails relating to her disappearance were fake. Jennifer Coffindaffer, a NewsNationlaw and justice contributor, said the bureau told her the bitcoin address on the notes did not match the address associated with the ransom demands, investigators considered potentially legitimate.
"I am concerned that other people that are following the Nancy Guthrie case, concerned about her, could be lured to make a deposit," Coffindaffer said. "Because they send this picture, it showed a likeness of Nancy shaved with dirt on her face, looking very hurt and with a tear coming down her eye. So they really try to weigh on the emotion and try to convince the person that she's alive, and that they can do something to help."
October marked eight months since her disappearance and a suspect has yet to be named.
Savannah Guthrie has missed other 'Today' show episodes recently
The journalist missed back-to-back episodes in July and took two weeks off at the end of August. Savannah Guthrie also took a leave of absence in June as she began production on the Wordle game show, based on the popular game from The New York Times.
In a June conversation on "Today" with Jenna Bush Hager, Savannah Guthrie shared that continuing to do her job amid her mom's disappearance hasn't been easy.
"I know maybe people wonder, 'What's going on? How is she able to do that job? Is she not thinking about it? Did she forget?' No. Never," she said, adding, "I cry every morning on the way to work, and I cry every morning on the way home."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Where is Savannah Guthrie on 'Today'? Craig Melvin addresses her absence
