Family’s plea after boyfriend returns home from trip without their daughter

The family of a 22-year-old woman have made a desperate plea after her mystery disappearance on a camping trip with her boyfriend.

Gabby Petito was last known to be in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming during a cross-country trip with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie. Pictures: Instagram

A woman has been missing for two weeks after going on a road trip with her boyfriend, with her mum fearing her final texts were not sent by her.

Gabby Petito, 22, and boyfriend Brian Laundrie set out in a converted campervan to tour America’s National Parks in early July, but her distraught family lost contact with her two weeks ago.

Petito’s mom, Nicole Schmidt, last spoke to her daughter on the phone on August 25 when she was at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

Mystery behind last text messages

Following the 22-year-old’s sudden disappearance, Schmidt now fears the last text from Petito on August 30 might not have been sent by her.

“I don’t know if she left Grand Teton or not,” Schmidt told Fox News.

“I did receive a text from her on the 27th and the 30th, but I don’t know if it was technically her or not, because it was just a text. I didn’t verbally speak to her.”

Schmidt said Petito and Laundrie started the road trip in Florida and headed to New York, before eventually arriving at Salt Lake City, Utah, in August.

The couple left amid heavy smoke from the wildfires and stopped in Grand Teton on August 25, Petito’s last known location, before a planned trip to Yellowstone and eventually Portland, Schmidt said.

Boyfriend not co-operating with search

Gabby's family claims that Laundrie has hired a lawyer and refuses to work with police to help locate her. Credit: Instagram/@gabspetito

Laundrie has since returned to his Florida home with the 2012 Ford Transit van and her family says he has not been co-operating with the investigation into Petitio’s disappearance, per the Daily Mail.

“I can’t say much, but she’s no longer with the van,” Schmidt told Fox News.

“I don’t want to say anything more than that but for people looking for her, I want them to look for her now, not look for that van anymore.”

Detectives from the Suffolk County Police Department in New York are investigating Petito’s disappearance.

A spokesperson for the department confirmed the camper van had been recovered.

Petito’s father, Joe, has been left devastated by his daughter’s disappearance.

“It’s like drowning with your hands tied behind you. You can’t describe it. There’s nothing you can do. You can’t control anything,” he told NewsDay.

The family have so far raised $4,800 of a $10,000 goal on GoFundMe to help with the search and Schmidt remains convinced her daughter will return home.

“I believe a mother’s instinct is the most powerful,” she said. “I believe she’s going to come home.”

Their ‘rekindled’ romance, possible engagement

Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie on their first date several years ago.

Schmidt said Laundrie and her daughter attended high school together and later “rekindled” their relationship — and had been living together in Florida for 2 1/2 years.

She would not confirm reports that the two were engaged — although Petino posted on Instagram last year “Brian asked me to marry him and I said yes”.

“As a mom, I had concerns about a daughter going on a road trip in general, but I felt safe, they were together,” she said. “They had a plan, an itinerary, and we were excited for them. Everyone wanted to be doing what they were doing.

“I think she was the kind of person who was free,” Schmidt added. “She went where the day took her. She didn’t have a plan. This was a plan, but what was next, we don’t know.”

Petito had been documenting her trip on Instagram, posting dozens of pictures from Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and Arches National Park.

Her last post on August 26 was a series of images of her smiling in front of a colourful mural.

The couple had also started a YouTube channel called “Nomadic Statik” to share their road trip.

One eight-minute video – titled “Beginning Our Van Life Journey” – was posted to the channel three weeks ago.

Who is Gabby Petito?

Petito is a 22 year old Long Island native who is residing in North Port, Florida after moving in with her fiancee, Brian Laundrie, two years ago.

She is known for living an adventurous life and her father, Joe Petito, describes her as “very, very free-spirited,” according to Newsweek.

“Clothes didn’t impress her. Cars didn’t impress her. Experiences — that’s what impressed her,” he told the media outlet.

Petito is described as 165cm tall with blonde hair and blue eyes, and she has a triangle tattoo with flowers on her left arm and a “let it be” tattoo on her right arm.

When did Gabby Petito go missing?

A spokesperson for the police department confirmed the van had been recovered.

Petito was last seen on August 24, 2021 checking out of a hotel with Laundrie in Salt Lake City, Utah.

While Petito’s mother, Nicole Schmidt, revealed that she heard from her daughter on August 27 and 30, she told Fox News she is not sure if it was actually her as only text messages were exchanged.

Following the unusual circumstances, Schmidt then reported her daughter missing on September 11 at around 6:55pm.

“According to family, they were last in contact with her during the last week of August. Prior to the last communication, Petito is believed to have been in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming,” the police department said in a press release.

Who is Gabby’s boyfriend Brian Laundrie?

The DailyMail reported that Laundrie has been very quiet about Petito’s whereabouts and has refused to speak publicly about the situation and even hired an lawyer since his arrival home.

While not much is known about Laundrie, he is known for being just as adventurous as his partner.

According to his Instagram bio, he is a “nature enthusiast,” and his most recent pictures are from his cross-country travels.

His Instagram account also indicates that he is an artist as he has multiple pictures posted related to printmaking art.

— The Sun with the New York Post