United Kingdom, Feb. 27 -- Katie Couric has called Savannah Guthrie's ordeal "tragically unprecedented".

Savannah, 54, has stepped away from her role on the Today show as the hunt continues for her missing mother Nancy Guthrie, 84, who disappeared from her Arizona home on February 1 and now the morning show's former host Katie has weighed in on how the "devastating" events have affected the team behind the scenes as they grapple with covering a story about their co-worker.

Katie - who co-hosted the Today show between 1991 and 2006 - told Variety: "This situation is tragically unprecedented, and I think it's really hard to compare anything else to what Savannah and her family are dealing with right now.

"I do think morning shows are liv...