Chelsea Grimm: Artist and photographer vanished on a road trip

(NewsNation) — Two months after Chelsea Grimm embarked on a cross-country adventure, her family has no idea what happened to the artist and photographer who disappeared after saying she changed her mind and was planning to return home.

The 32-year-old left San Diego on a cross-country road trip on Sep. 24, headed to a wedding in Connecticut. A photographer and artist, Chelsea planned to document the 2,800-mile road trip in photos. Her father said a spontaneous adventure like the trip was in character for his daughter.

“She was spontaneous. She changed plans a lot,” Stephen Grimm said. “The magnitude of this adventure, of driving across the country was a lot, even for Chelsea.”

Originally, Chelsea had planned to fly to Connecticut but decided to drive to accommodate her new pet bearded dragon, Roz.

But three days into the trip, her parents said she called them and said she didn’t think she could do the trip by herself. Chelsea planned to camp for a few days instead before returning home.

She arrived in Phoenix, Arizona, where she met up with her sister and a friend. Chelsea was supposed to meet the same friend for lunch the following day but canceled her plans, heading to Williams, Arizona, instead.

Chelsea was stopped by a police officer responding to a call as she was parked near a graveyard and war memorial.

Body cam footage shows Chelsea having a conversation with the officer, who asked if she was doing okay.

“I’m okay,” Chelsea said. “I just was doing a photo shoot of the lost soldiers and I got a little emotional. So I was crying before I got back on the road.”

Chelsea assured the officer she didn’t plan to stay there until sunset. The officer replied that she could stay however long she wanted and was good to go.

Her parents said Chelsea’s response seemed in character for her.

“One thing that seemed very in the ordinary, or very in character, was how she said ‘I appreciate your compassion’ or something like that. That sounded 110% like Chelsea,” Stephen said.

During the stop, the officer suggested some safe places for Chelsea to camp for the night. She was seen again by a woodcutter on Sep. 30, camping in her car near Ash Fork, Arizona.

Chelsea told her parents she might not have cell service while she was camping. But when they didn’t hear from her for several days, her parents reported her missing on Oct. 4.

A day later, her white Ford Focus SUV was found abandoned on the side of the road with two flat tires.

“She seemed to have left that car of her own volition, in an organized way,” Stephen said. “It was locked, she had taken her wallet, her phone and her sleeping bag, among other things, along with the bearded dragon.”

Authorities notified police in other states to be on the lookout for Chelsea. Her parents have also hired private investigator Kelly Townsend.

“There were two flat tires, it was out on a dirt road. How far was the body cam video from where she talked to the police to where the car was found? Did somebody interact with her and then they drove down that road?” Townsend said.

Her parents told NewsNation they were hanging on to hope that someone will recognize Chelsea and her pet bearded dragon.

“The chances of people recognizing Chelsea and sort of connecting the dots, if they see somebody with a bearded dragon they’re going to take an extra look at that person,” said Chelsea’s mother Janet Grimm.