A Tennessee woman has disappeared during a cross-country trip with her boyfriend, sparking comparisons to the tragic case of Gabby Petito, who was killed by her boyfriend during a similar trip in 2021.

Nikki Alcaraz, 33, and Tyler Stratton set off to visit family in Orange County, California, earlier this month.

“It’s a trip she’s done hundreds of times,” her sister, Toni Alcaraz, told WKRN. “Our uncle is still in Southern California, and she goes to see him often.”

The couple had a run-in with law enforcement on May 4 in Torrance County, New Mexico, after a witness reported seeing Stratton punch Alcaraz in the face. A police report said Stratton claimed to have been struck as well, and neither wanted to press charges. Deputies gave them rides, dropping Alcaraz off in Moriarty. She called her sister.

“She was crying and upset. Her eye was already turning black and you could tell she was beat up pretty bad,” Toni Alcaraz said.

A family friend drove to New Mexico with plans to meet up with Nikki and complete the trip to California. But on the morning they were supposed to leave — May 6 — she told him she had a bad feeling and went back to find Stratton. The friend left without her.

Nikki texted her sister two days later, saying she was in Arizona and planned to continue to California. There was no more communication, just a license plate reader that picked up Nikki’s Jeep near Flagstaff on May 9.

Toni Alcaraz filed a missing persons report in Torrance County, where her sister was last seen.

There are difference to the Petito story as well. Petito’s boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, travelled back to his Florida home in Petito’s van after killing her, then killed himself in a swamp, leaving behind a notebook confession. Stratton, as far as is known, has not returned to Tennessee, and Alcaraz’s Jeep is missing.

Cheatham County, Tennessee, District Attorney General Ray Crouch told WKRN that his office is working with law enforcement in New Mexico and Arizona to find Alcaraz and Stratton, who is wanted on an unrelated failure to appear warrant related to a theft charge.

The Jeep is a 2013 black Jeep Wrangler with a tag saying BGL3539, a “Mama Tried” sticker, and camo seats.

Anyone with information  is asked to call Moriarty, New Mexico police at 505-832-6060 or 505-834-2705.

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[Featured image: Tyler Stratton and Nikki Alcaraz/Facebook]