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The mum of a missing woman has revealed that the last thing sent from her mobile was a haunting message saying that she didn’t have any phone service.
Gabby Petito's mum Nicole Schmidt told the New York Post the message was sent two days before her van turned up in Florida, the US.
Nicole said she received the message from her daughter’s phone on August 30, when the 22-year-old was on a cross-country trip with boyfriend Brian Laundrie, who has been named a “person of interest” by police investigating Gabby’s disappearance.
The YouTuber's message message simply read: “No service in Yosemite”, and Nicole said she didn’t think her daughter sent it.
“I do not believe the text on August 30 was from my daughter,” she told the paper. “The van was in Florida on the 1st [of September]. I think I can do the maths.”
The message was first reported by the Daily Mail.
Gabby and Laundrie, 23, had been on a tour of national parks in the west of the United States when she lost contact with her family and stopped her social media posts.
Her last known location was the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming – 800 miles from Yosemite National Park – in late August, with Laundrie returning home to Florida on September 1 in their white Ford Transit van.
YouTuber Gabby was officially reported missing by Nicole last Saturday, and police have now seized the van as part of their investigation.
Laundrie has hired a lawyer and is refusing to talk to the authorities.
In a statement, police chief Todd Garrison, of North Port, Florida, said: “We are pleading with anyone, including Brian, to share information with us on her whereabouts in the past weeks.
“The lack of information from Brian is hindering this investigation.”
In an emotional press conference on Monday, Nicole said her mother’s instinct told her Gabby would be found.
“I believe a mother’s instinct is the most powerful,” she said. “I believe she’s going to come home.”
Gabby and Laundrie had been at high school together and later rekindled their relationship, living together in Florida for more than two years before setting out on their road trip on July 2.
Before starting the road trip, Gabby launched a YouTube channel called Nomadic Statik, which now has nearly 12,000 subscribers.
She posted just one video, called “Van Life | Beginning our Van Life Journey”, stating that it was “a glimpse into our van adventures”.
She said the couple had crossed the country once before, and had enjoyed it so much they now wanted to travel full-time.
In the video, Gabby put together a montage of clips of the first part of their adventure, including drone shots, beach clips and camping.
- In the News
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