RED FLAGS

Gabby Petito’s last texts show ‘increasing tension’ with Brian Laundrie as mom reveals how she knew something was wrong

GABBY Petito’s final “texts” appear to show increasing tension with her fiancé Brian Laundrie as her mom says she was “concerned” something was wrong with her daughter.

Cops recovered a hard drive from the couple’s white camper van when they executed a search on September 14 – just days after Gabby was reported missing by her family.

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Gabby Petito's final texts appear to show tension with her fiancé Brian LaundrieCredit: AP
A memorial dedicated to Gabby has been set up in Florida following her disappearanceCredit: Getty
Texts show Gabby's mom was concerned about her daughter

During the couple's road trip, Gabby phoned her mom Nichole Schmidt several times and sent many texts, an affidavit reveals.

The court documents state that there appeared to be “more and more” tension between Gabby and her fiancé.

Gabby’s last known contact with her family was on August 25 when she and Laundrie reached Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

But, her mom says she received an “odd text” from Gabby’s phone two days later on August 27.

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It read: “Can you help Stan, I just keep getting his voicemails and missed calls.”

Schmidt said that Gabby never calls her granddad “Stan” and was worried that “something may be wrong” with her daughter.

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The court documents state that it was the last communication anyone had with Gabby.

Her phone was no longer operational, and she didn’t post anything on social media about her trip.

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Gabby’s family “became more worried” about her as a result.

The hard drive was recovered from the same van that Brian Laundrie drove back to Florida alone from Wyoming 10 days before Gabby was reported missing on September 11.

Schmidt previously claimed that she was sent a message on August 30 but alleged it wasn’t sent by her daughter.

The text, dated August 30, read: "No signal in Yosemite" and Schmidt alleged it was not sent by her daughter.

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That text was NOT from Gabby, I know it.

Nichole Schmidt

She told DailyMail.com: “That text was NOT from Gabby I know it!”

The family’s lawyer Richard Stafford added: “She doesn’t believe it was from her daughter. Looking back now with all the facts.. she believes it’s not her daughter.”

It's not known who sent the text message.

Yosemite is located in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California - around 800 miles from Grand Teton.

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The alleged communication has not been cited in the court documents.

Throughout their road trip, Gabby and Laundrie toured the midwest and visited national parks and canyons in Kansas, Utah, and Colorado.

Cops responded to an “incident” involving the couple that had happened outside a grocery store in Moab, Utah on August 12.

Gabby told the police that she and Laundrie had been "fighting", according to the bodycam footage.

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The 22-year-old, who is apologetic throughout the clip, tries to explain to the officer what she and Laundrie were arguing about.

She explained to the officers that she has OCD and that causes her to get “frustrated”.

'RED FLAGS'

Laundrie appeared calm throughout as he told cops about their “stressful” morning.

He described the nature of the argument as “normal couple stuff” and claimed it started when Gabby tried to get the keys to the van off him.

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Officers told the couple to separate for the night.

Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Ziv Evra Cohen said the “imbalance raises a red flag”.

He told Fox News that Gabby seems terrified, adding: “She looks scared. She looks very overwhelmed.

“She was emoting so much that it was very clear that there had been an incident and there had been a problem of some kind that she was struggling with.”

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Cohen said OCD could cause an “argument” but it’s not a “risk factor for violence”.

And, Arches National Park ranger Melissa Hulls warned that the couple's relationship seemed "toxic", the Deseret News reports

She “implored” Gabby to re-evaluate the relationship as she asked the vlogger if she was happy.

The ranger revealed the 22-year-old was "anxious" about being away from Laundrie.

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'TOXIC' RELATIONSHIP

It comes as FBI detectives and Wyoming authorities found human remains “consistent” with the description of Gabby in Grand Teton National Park on Sunday.

makeshift memorial of stones arranged in the shape of a cross has been spotted at the campsite where the body was believed to be found.

An autopsy is expected to be conducted today.

Meanwhile, cops were seen swarming the Florida home of Laundrie's parents as they were removed from the property.

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Officers towed away Laundrie’s silver Mustang from the home in North Port.

More than 20 agents went inside and “took a lot of stuff” including “boxes and boxes” of evidence, according to NewsNation journalist Brian Entin.

It’s believed that Laundrie may have driven the car when he allegedly went for a hike in a 25,000-acre nature reserve in the Sarasota area.

FBI agents, local crews and K9s scoured the area during the weekend.

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Gabby's mom Nichole Schmidt was 'concerned' about her daughterCredit: CBS New York
Gabby was reported missing on September 11Credit: Instagram @gabspetito

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