Gabby Petito's family now claims her boyfriend Brian Laundrie is not cooperating with police regarding her disappearance.
For 22-year-old Gabby Petito, of Long Island, New York, embracing “van life,” a nomadic lifestyle that embraces living minimally in a converted van while traveling the world, was meant to be an adventure of a lifetime this summer. According to photos on her Instagram, she had the chance to hike barefoot through Canyonlands National Park, camp in Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve and relax in Mystic Hot Springs.
Now, less than two months after beginning the road trip of a lifetime with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, Petito has disappeared.
"We don’t eat, we don’t sleep," her mom Nicole Schmidt told Inside Edition. "We are constantly on social media talking to everyone we can, trying to get leads."
Laundrie returned to his home in North Point, Florida, with the van, but Petito was not with him, her family said. He has also reportedly retained a lawyer, and is refusing to cooperate with police, her family claimed.
"It's an indescribable feeling that I hope and pray no one ever feels," her father Joseph Petito told Inside Edition.
Petito’s mom and stepfather reported her missing to Suffolk County Police Saturday, and told authorities that the last time they heard from her was during the last week of August, when she told them she had been in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
Petito and Laundrie were last seen checking out of a Salt Lake City hotel on Aug. 24.
Schmidt said they spoke via FaceTime on Aug. 25, when Petito called her mom to let her know they were in Wyoming, on their way to Yellowstone.
"She’s always in communication with myself," her dad said. "She calls her mother two, three times a week."
Schmidt said she received texts from her daughter’s phone as late as Aug. 30 but she wasn’t sure it was Petito who sent them.
Those close to Petito call her free-spirited. Petito has a tattoo on her arm that read “let it be,” a quote that she also had written on her Facebook page. She also has other tattoos and a piercing on her belly button.
The pair had been traveling in a 2012 white Ford Transit with the license plate QFTG03. They had plans to travel to Portland, Oregon, by the end of October.
Detectives are asking anyone with information on Petito’s disappearance to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS.
To support her family, visit her GoFundMe page.
