Missing woman Gabby Petito’s final text to her mum revealed

Gabby Petito’s mother has revealed the four-word text sent from her daughter’s phone — and why she believes it was sent by someone else.

The last text message from Gabby Petito’s phone warned that she didn’t have phone service in Yosemite National Park — and was sent two days before her van emerged in Florida, her mother told The New York Post on Wednesday.

Petito’s mother, Nichole Schmidt, said she received the message from her daughter’s phone on August 30, when the 22-year-old was supposed to be in the middle of a cross-country trip with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie.

“No service in Yosemite,” the message read.

But Schmidt said she doesn’t believe her daughter was behind the text.

“I do not believe the text on August 30th was from my daughter,” Schmidt said.

Asked why she had doubts, Schmidt replied, “The van was in Florida on the 1st (of September). I think I can do the math.”

Schmidt declined to comment on who she believes sent the text and whether she received any other unusual messages.

It’s about a 40-hour non-stop drive from Yosemite to Florida.

The estimated time it takes to drive across country from Yosemite to Florida. Picture: Google Maps

Petito, 22, and Laundrie, 23, had been on a tour of national parks out west when she lost contact with family and stopped posting to social media pages.

She was last known to be at Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park in late August, while Laundrie returned to his home to North Port, Florida, on Sept. 1 in the white Ford Transit van the couple was using, police said.

Schmidt reported her daughter missing on Sept. 11.

Police in the Florida town have confirmed they have seized the converted van to process for evidence.

Laundrie has been declared a person of interest in the case and refused to talk to authorities, police said.

“We are pleading with anyone, including Brian, to share information with us on her whereabouts in the past weeks,” North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison said in a statement Wednesday. “The lack of information from Brian is hindering this investigation.”

Brian Laundrie and Gabby Petito. Picture: Instagram

It was revealed on Thursday the missing Long Island woman and her boyfriend scuffled near a Utah national park last month, telling police that tension between the two “had been building over the last few days,” according to police records.

Petito also told cops she feared that her beau, Brian Laundrie, was going to drive off and leave her behind “without a ride”.

According to police, they considered domestic violence charges against Petito, who “was struggling with her mental health” and allegedly scratched Laundrie.

But police determined the situation did not rise to a criminal case “as much as that of a mental health crisis” and told the feuding couple to spend the night apart.

“Both the male and the female reported they are in love and engaged to be married and desperately didn’t wish to see anyone charged with a crime,” said the report, obtained by The New York Post.

The couple told cops in Moab, Utah, during the August 12 incident they had been travelling together for months and the “emotional strain between them” had led to an “increased number of arguments,” the report said.

Police initially responded to a report of a domestic disturbance around 4.30pm near the Moonflower Community Cooperative in Moab, and later pulled over the 2012 Ford Transit van the two were travelling in.

“I approached the vehicle and saw the only occupants being Gabrielle and Brian,” Police Officer Daniel Scott Robbins wrote. “Gabrielle, who was in the passenger east, was crying uncontrollably.”

Missing 22-year-old Gabby Petito's mother Nicole Schmidt during a press conference. Picture: CBS New York

Petito and Laundrie told cops they both suffered from an undisclosed disorder, with Laundrie telling the officer “neither he nor Gabrielle take medication”.

The specific disorder was redacted from the police report.

According to the report, the couple got into an argument near a local convenience store, and Petito attempted to slap Laundrie, who locked her out of the van.

“Brian said Gabrielle, thinking he was going to leave her in Moab without a ride, went to slap him,” the report said. “As Gabrielle started to swing, Brian pushed her away to avoid the slap. As a result Gabrielle, off-balance, but still caught Brian’s face with some fingers causing minor visible scratches.”

But neither of the two wanted to press charges, and police said they “then determined the most appropriate course of action would be to help separate the parties for the night so they could reset their mental states without interference from one another”.

The officers found a hotel room for Laundrie for the night and Petito remained in the van.

— New York Post