Beloved TV News Anchor Makes Joyful Return To Station

CONNECTICUT ? NBC Connecticut's morning news anchor made a triumphant return to the airwaves Friday morning.

Heidi Voight had been off the air for most of 2023 while she's been mourning the death of her mother, Claudia Voight, 73, who died in her Windham, VT, home on Feb. 20, according to police. Claudia Voight had sustained injuries from strangulation, police said. The criminal investigation is still pending.

On Facebook, Heidi Voight wrote on Thursday, "Hey, real quick - coffee tomorrow morning? You, me, NBC Connecticut's Bob Maxon and Shannon Miller? Okay, cool. Meet me at our usual spot: NBC Connecticut starting at 4:30am. I?ve missed you a lot."

And on Friday morning, Voight shared a photo on social media showing her laughing with new morning anchor, Shannon Miller and added these words: "Oh it feels good to laugh again. Good morning, friends. You up with us?"

Voight's post already has 1,400 likes and 400 comments as of early Friday morning. "Woke up and turned on the news and sat straight up in bed when I saw your face there!! So good to see you back! You?ve been missed!" one person wrote on Voight's social media post.

Another person wrote, "So happy to have you back. Not only for your viewers but for you. It is a sign that you have overcome one of the hurdles placed in front of you. Sending strength for continued healing. Welcome back."

Later on Friday, Voight wrote on her Facebook page, "To you, my friends: "Thank you" doesn't feel like enough.

"When an act of horrifying violence shattered my family's world this past February, my faith in humanity was shaken. Eventually it all became too much to bear, and I had to step away. But I want you to know that YOU -- all of you who have reached out since then with kindness, love, concern -- you have helped me believe again that most people are still good at heart.

"Your support has comforted me and strengthened me, and after months of intense focus on my mental, physical and spiritual health, I know in my heart that I am going to be okay. I am so immensely grateful to NBC Connecticut for their patience and care in helping me gently transition back.

"Yes, I am still grieving. But I have learned that grief and joy can co-exist. And yes, there are still many things playing out behind the scenes as the wheels of justice turn. But in the meantime, I am ready to reclaim my life from the darkness that invaded it.

"They stole my mother, but they cannot steal her legacy of love and light. They can not steal her strength that she hardwired into every cell of my being. And they cannot steal my joy. Brighter days are coming. I'm thankful to be back with my friends, waking you up with a smile. And I'm so thankful for all of you. Love and light, always, Heidi."

This summer, Voight went public with why she had been off the air for the past several months.

In a Facebook post entitled, "She Should Still Be Here," Heidi Voight mourned her mother's death and thanked fans and supporters for their outpouring of sympathy.

Voight, born and raised in Milford, had been on leave from her duties at NBC Connecticut. During the summer, on social media, she said she has been carrying the "painful secret" of her mother's cause of death.

"Claudia Voight was stolen from this world. She was stolen from her family, from her children, and from my precious daughters who now ask me almost every day, 'Why did Grandma go to Heaven?'" Voight posted.

Voight said she lacked "the words yet to begin to explain to such innocent minds that such evil exists in this world."

The former Miss Connecticut said that she and her family have been living the day she learned of her mother's death "on repeat," in an "emotional purgatory" as the rest of the world carried on.

Voight has worked with NBC Connecticut since 2014, and been an anchor since 2016. She is an alumna of Southern Connecticut State University.

"This has broken me and changed me," Voight told her social media followers during the summer." But I am my mother's daughter, and I will come back stronger. I will fight for her."