The father of a missing 22-year-old girl is asking for help locating his daughter, Gabby Petito, after she disappeared in a road trip in late August with her fiancé. Gabby’s father, Joe Petito, joined “Fox & Friends First” on Tuesday saying his family will not give up hope of locating his daughter.
“We have to find Gabby. We have to take her home,” Petito said as he urged anyone with information to call the information line with information.
The white camper van where Petito was traveling with his fiancé, Brian Laundrie, was also recovered Saturday night in North Port, at Laundrie’s parents’ home, according to the North Port Police Department.
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“We currently have no definitive information on whether a crime was committed here in North Port. That said, the circumstances are strange,” the North Port police department said Tuesday. “Therefore, we actively collect local details and any evidence to help find the necessary answers.”
Laundrie has not been named a suspect or person of interest in the case.
According to Petito, Gabby was in contact with her friends and family regularly, but the last time anyone spoke to her on the phone was on August 25th. Nicole Schmidt, Petito’s mother, said she received a text message from her daughter on Aug. 27 and Aug. 30.
Despite this communication, her mother is not sure if these text messages were really from her, as she did not talk to her on the phone.
FLORIDA WOMAN DISAPPEARS AFTER ROAD TRAVEL WITH THE BOYFRIEND, AS MOTHER REVEALS A MESSAGE TO THE AUTHORITIES
Gabby and her fiancé began their road trip in early July and traveled from Florida to New York and went to national parks in Utah, Colorado and elsewhere shortly thereafter. His last known location was in Wyoming, in Grand Teton National Park. Her fiancé drove the van home, but Gabby was nowhere to be found.
“It’s a feeling you can’t describe. That’s the thing. You can empathize, I’m sure you can sympathize, I’m sure you can understand how it feels, but you can’t describe how it feels if you’re not there, unless you’re the father “Petito said.
“You can’t describe what that feeling is like because you’ve never felt it. I pray no one ever feels it again.”
Petito praised law enforcement for their help, saying, “They’re amazing. They’ve been very advanced in what they’re doing.”
“Hope is something we’ve always had since we reported it gone and we won’t lose it.”
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Officials encourage anyone who may have information related to Gabby’s disappearance to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS or the FBI at 1-800 CALL FBI.
Paul Best of Fox News contributed to this report.