Nancy Guthrie once played along in staged childhood 'kidnapping' tradition, daughter's book says

Savannah Guthrie book reveals childhood "kidnapping" tradition with cousin. NBC host's mother Nancy Guthrie remains missing from Tucson, Arizona home since February 1.

Adam Sabes is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to Adam.Sabes@fox.com and on Twitter @asabes10.

"About once a year, in the summertime, Cousin Teri orchestrated a ‘kidnapping’ of my sister and me. It went down like this: The cousins would visit for a few days at our house in Tucson, and then, on the morning they were to leave, Teri would wake us up early, shushing us in the predawn darkness as we made our escape," Savannah Guthrie wrote in her book. "We would all pile into her rickety station wagon and head north, the sky streaking with bright oranges and pinks as the sun rose over the colorless desert landscape."

"Somewhere between Phoenix and Tucson, Teri would make a pit stop and let Annie and me call home at a pay phone. ‘Mom! Cousin Teri kidnapped us to take us to her house!’ My mother would feign shock, protest how terribly she would miss us, then assure us she’d drive up to retrieve us in a few days," she added.