Van-lifer, 22, disappears after cross-country trip to Yellowstone with her fiancé

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The mother of New York woman, who has been missing since her fiancé returned home from a cross-country trip without her, has said that the last time they were in contact was over text five days after they spoke over the phone on August 25.     

Nicole Schmidt said she texted Gabby Petito on August 27 and 30, but now she isn’t sure if her daughter was on the other end of the exchange because it wasn’t verbal and she didn’t share any photos of herself, Schmidt told Fox News. 

‘It was just a text. I did not verbally speak to her,’ she said. ‘I can’t say much, but she’s no longer with the van. 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.’   

Petito’s fiancé Brian Laundrie came back from their trip in the couple’s van leaving her alone on the other end of the country. He has since hired an attorney and refused to cooperate with investigators or speak publicly about what happened, according to Petito’s family.  

Petito, 22, of Blue Point, New York – in Suffolk County on eastern Long Island – was last seen on August 24 checking out of a hotel with Laundrie in Salt Lake City, Utah. The following day she made her final call to her family, telling them that she and Laundrie had traveled to Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.  

Her last Instagram, posted on August 25, shows her visiting the Monarch Wall in Ogden, Utah with the caption ‘Happy Halloween’. The pair were heading from Ogden to Yellowstone National Park, just north of Grand Teton, but Petito never made it. 

The couple embarked on their trip on July 2 from Blue Point, where they traveled for Petito’s brother’s graduation on June 17. Laundrie returned to their home in North Port, Florida, where the couple moved two years ago, driving the couple’s 2012 Ford Transit van, which police confirmed recovering. 

However, it is not clear when he arrived, what he did when he got there or who he told, if anyone, about Petito’s disappearance. She was only reported missing by her mother on Saturday night. 

‘[It’s like] drowning with your hands tied behind you,’ Petito’s father, Joseph Petito, told Newsday of his daughter’s disappearance. ‘You can’t describe it. There’s nothing you can do. You can’t control anything.’

The Suffolk County Police Department opened an investigation after her mom Nichole Schmidt filed a missing persons report just before 7pm on Saturday, the agency wrote in a press release.  

Neither Petito’s family nor her boyfriend Laundrie could be reached for comment. 

Petito was described as 5′ 5′, around 110 pounds, with several tattoos, including one on her forearm reading ‘let it be’. 

She and Laundrie moved to North Port, Florida, two years ago from Blue Point, where she grew up and attended Bayport – Blue Point High School. 

Father Joseph, who moved to Vero Beach, Florida, in June to be closer to his daughter, described her as ‘very, very free spirited’.

‘Clothes didn’t impress her. Cars didn’t impress her. Experiences – that’s what impressed her.’  

The couple started their trip on July 2 after Petito attended her brother’s graduation in New York on June 17. They planned to reach Portland, Oregon, and visit a family friend for Halloween.   

The pair had documented their conversion of a 2012 Ford van into a camper and their life traveling in it on YouTube and Instagram, and were developing a social media presence under the name ‘Nomadic Statik.’

Per their Instagram accounts, the pair began their trip on July 2 and traveled to Kansas’ Monument Rocks, Colorado Springs, Great Sand Dunes National Park, Zion National Park and Bryce National Park in Utah and Canyonlands National Park since July 2.

‘Downsizing out life to fit into this itty bitty van was the best decision we’ve ever made,’ Laundrie wrote on Instagram in early July. 

‘Sacrificing space to wake up in nature everyday has been no sacrifice at all.’ 

Petito and Laundrie had turned back from Utah in late August to evade wildfire smoke, Nicole Schmidt said, and had planned to go to Yellowstone National Park next. 

Schmidt said she would remain vigilant and keep up the search for her daughter. 

‘I just want people to keep looking and not stop until we find her,’ Schmidt told Newsday. ‘She’s out there somewhere… We won’t stop until we find her.’ 

Schmidt’s husband and son TJ have posted two missing persons posters on their Instagrams as well as a picture of Petito, appealing for her safe return. 

Both warned they were unable to ‘comment any further because there is an active investigation.’

Since Petito’s disappearance, her family has launched a GoFundMe that has accrued $5,000 in just six hours. They have also started a social media campaign on Facebook, simply called ‘Find Gabby,’ where a number of national park visitors have claimed to recognize the pair’s van. 

‘While we are working with the FBI, multiple law enforcement agencies, and outside resources to pursue any and all leads the family will need funds and resources to travel and pay for expenses related to an investigation and search on the other side of the country, any help is appreciated,’ reads the body of the fundraiser.