Gabby Petito missing after cross-country road trip with fiancé
Father Joe Petito joins 'Fox & Friends First' and pleads for help to find his daughter Gabby, says its 'like drowning with your hands tied behind you'
The father of a missing 22-year-old woman is pleading for help in locating his daughter, Gabby Petito, after she went missing on a cross-country road trip with her fiancé in late August. She was last known to be in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park.
Gabby’s father, Joe Petito, joined "Fox & Friends First" on Tuesday saying his family will not give up hope in locating his daughter.
"We’ve got to find Gabby. We’ve got to bring her home," Petito said as he urged anyone with information to call the tipline.
The white converted camper van that Petito was traveling in with her fiance, Brian Laundrie, was also recovered on Saturday night back in North Port, Florida, at the home of Laundrie's parents, according to the North Port Police Department.
"We currently have no definitive information that a crime took place here in North Port. With that said, the circumstances are odd," the North Port Police Department said Tuesday. "So, we are actively gathering local details and any evidence to assist in finding needed 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 Aug. 25. Nicole Schmidt, Petito's mother, said she got a text message from her daughter on Aug. 27 and Aug. 30.
Despite this communication, her mother is unsure if those text messages were actually from her since she did not talk to her on the phone.
FLORIDA WOMAN DISAPPEARS AFTER ROAD TRIP WITH BOYFRIEND AS MOM REVEALS MESSAGE TO 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 after. Her last known location was in Wyoming at 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 am sure you can sympathize, I am sure you can understand how it feels, but you can’t describe how it feels unless you’re in it, unless you’re the parent," said Petito.
"You just can’t describe how that feeling is because you’ve never felt it before. I pray no one ever feels it again"
Petito praised law enforcement for their help saying, "They are beyond amazing. They have been very upfront in what they are doing."
"Hope is something we’ve always had since we reported her missing and we are not going to lose that."
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Officials encourage anyone who might have any information related to Gabby’s disappearance to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS or the FBI at 1-800 CALL FBI.
Fox News' Paul Best contributed to this report.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox