NOTE: Chelsea has a vine tattoo on her left arm and wears glasses.
In a case eerily reminiscent of Gabby Petito, Chelsea, 32, an avid photographer and clinical psychologist, was reported missing by her parents on October 4th, 2023 after she disappeared while traveling cross country. She decided to go on a road trip from San Diego to Connecticut to attend a wedding and visit her parents and needed to drive rather than fly, because she wanted to bring her new pet, a bearded dragon named Roz that she adored. On September 28, she drove into Phoenix, Arizona and hung out with a friend (and possibly her sister, according to one source). She then changed her mind about the whole trip and called her parents to say she felt overwhelmed by the long cross country drive. She told them she would be heading back to San Diego after camping for a few days. After the phone call, a witness took note of her at a hotel in Seligman, AZ, seeming discombobulated as she attempted to pay for her hotel stay in Euros. On September 28th, a police officer interacted with her at a graveyard in Williams, Arizona, their conversation captured on body cam footage. He finds her sobbing, and she explains that she is doing a photography project on lost soldiers, and it made her emotional. He suggests that she can safely sleep at a local truck stop that night. Two days later, on September 30th, she is last seen camping in her car in Ash Fork, Arizona by a woodcutter. She is never seen or heard from again. After her family reports her missing on October 4th, her car is found on Forest Road 6 in the Kaibab National Forest with two shredded tires. There’s no sign of Chelsea or her bearded dragon. Her cellphone, wallet, clothing, and sleeping bag are all gone, but her beloved camera, which her mother describes as functioning as “an extension of who she was” was left behind with its last photo taken on September 30th. There are no footprints near the car, and extensive searches with k9s have turned up no leads. Only limited cell phone records have been obtained from AT&T. A private investigator hired by the family and San Diego police suspect foul play, while the Coconino County Sheriff’s office does not believe foul play was involved. I have seen no interviews so far with the woodcutter, the officer who spoke to Chelsea, the witness who saw her at the hotel, or the friend who met up with her. The case is very popular with online sleuths.
Reward: Up to $75,000