A Tennessee couple is missing after embarking on a cross-country trip several weeks ago – in a case that harks back to the 2021 disappearance of travel blogger Gabby Petito.
Mom-of-two Nikki Alcaraz, 33, set out on the nearly 2,000-mile excursion in early May with her boyfriend Tyler Stratton and her pet dog to visit her uncle in Southern California.
The pair left her home a few miles outside Nashville in Alcaraz’s 2013 black Jeep Wrangler and were traveling until May 4, until they got into a physical fight in New Mexico. The cops were called and found Alcaraz with a black eye and Stratton with a bloody nose, but neither pressed charges.
A male family friend drove out to meet Alcaraz in new Mexico on May 6, two days after she had called her sister, Toni, crying.
But when they were supposed to carry on the trip together, Alcaraz told the friend she wanted to go back and find her boyriend because she had a ‘bad feeling’, Toni told WKRN. She claims the friend was the last person to see Alcaraz on May 6.
Two days later on the morning of Monday May 8, Alcaraz texted her sister to say she was in Arizona with plans to complete her trip – but three weeks on, she is still missing, along with Stratton and the pet dog.
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Tennessee couple Tyler Stratton and Nikki Alcaraz are both missing after embarking on a cross-country trip from Tennessee to Southern California several weeks ago – in a case that harks back to the 2021 disappearance of the ill-fated travel blogger Gabby Petito
Alcaraz, seen here with a black eye after a May 4 altercation with her boyfriend , set out on the excursion sometime in early May, departing her home a few miles outside Nashville
Somewhere along the way, the 33-year-old mother vanished, cops say – with witness accounts and police reports now indicating that some sort of struggle transpired shortly before her disappearance, as they piece together what happened
A Torrance County police report filed on May 4 shows a photo of Alcaraz’s black eye and bruised arm, after the pair were booked and later let go without any charges filed – just as Petito and her boyfriend Brian Laundrie were when stopped by police in Utah after a similar bust-up.
A witness told responding officers that they saw Stratton – who, like Laundrie, is wanted for an unrelated offense – punch her in the face.
The report also states that Stratton claimed he was also hit during the altercation in small-town Moriarty, which has a population of roughly 1,900 and is set just outside Albuquerque.
Speaking to WKRN Sunday, sister Toni recalled how she received a frantic call from Nikki later that day.
‘She was crying and upset,’ Toni recalled to the outlet, detailing the so-far failed efforts to track down either her sister or her boyfriend.
‘Her eye was already turning black and you could tell she was beat up pretty bad,’ she added.
The Tennessee native went on to explain how the family friend tried and failed to bring Alcaraz with him on May 6 he was rebuffed.
On May 8, Alcaraz’s 2013 black Jeep Wrangler was located by a license plate reader near Flagstaff, Arizona – the same day she had texted her sister to tell her she was in The Grand Canyon State.
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As officials search for leads to find Stratton and Alcaraz, Toni told the outlet that she is worried that something may have happened between the two.
‘I am scared something happened to them, whether they got in another fight or if they crashed her Jeep somewhere.
‘I talk to her almost every day, so I am scared something happened to them,’ she said. ‘It’s a trip she’s done hundreds of times.’
Speaking to Pix11 News Sunday, Alcaraz’s sister, Toni Alcaraz, recalled how she received a frantic call from Nikki the day cops said she got into a physical fight with Stratton – days before she was last seen
The pair departed Tennessee in late April in this black Jeep, which has yet to be located. The car belongs to Alcaraz, and was last located by a license plate reader in Arizona on May 9
Also missing is Alcaraz’s pet dog, who accompanied the pair during what was supposed to be 2,000 mile, few-day trip
As officials search for leads as to the location of the disappeared pair, Toni told the outlet that she is worried that something may have happened between the two leading to her sister’s disappearance
Speaking to the station Sunday, Toni explained that she and other relatives are frantically searching for their missing relative, with help from the Moriarity Police Department.
Federal officials have yet to involve themselves in the search, which has so far failed to turn up any leads.
Despite the grim parallels with the case of Gabby Petito, who was found dead after embarking on a trip with her abusive boyfriend Brian Laundrie, Toni is hopeful her sister is still alive.
‘I don’t think she is dead out there somewhere, but it’s all a possibility at this point, and I am really scared of that, but I’m praying that’s not the case,’ she said.
Of the similarities to the Petito case, she further remarked: ‘All the stories like that that seem to happen and seem to happen more often make it more terrifying.’
The injury is visible in a Torrance County police report filed later that day, after the pair were booked and later let go without any charges filed – just as Petito and boyfriend Brian Laundrie were when stopped by police in Utah after a similar bustup in August 2021 (seen here)
Despite the grim precursor provided by the headline-case surrounding Petito, who was found dead two months after her bustup with Laundrie, Toni said she is hopeful her sister is still alive
In the meantime, Tennessee DAs are working to compile evidence from law enforcement in both New Mexico and Arizona in hopes of locating any of the missing party.
District Attorney General Ray Crouch said this week that his office has requested nationwide extradition for the still-missing Stratton, who is wanted for failure to appear on a probation violation stemming over an unrelated theft charge.
Officials have yet to produce any evidence that indicates Alcaraz is dead – with her case currently being treat like that of a missing person.
Both Alcaraz and Stratton remain missing as of Monday. DailyMail.com has reached out to Crouch’s office for comment regarding progress with the search.
