Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie had reportedly planned a beach wedding in Florida but postponed it due to the COVID pandemic.

The two were engaged last July. They instead went on a road trip, leading to the disappearance and death of Gabby Petito, after they postponed their beach wedding.

Petito's stepfather, Jim Schmidt, said the couple has planned a small ceremony but were forced to pause their wedding plan due to the pandemic, The Sun reported.

Schmidt told Fox News that COVID happened, so the couple put the wedding on hold and "said they were going to live life."

Petito's mother, Nichole Schmidt, said the wedding was not the main priority as the couple planned their cross-country trip. She added that Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie had decided to call the wedding off and go back to dating.

Nichole told Daily Mail that the couple was very excited at first, but they realized that they should wait since they were still young.

"So, they were really just boyfriend and girlfriend," Nichole said.

Gabby Petito has announced her engagement with Brian Laundrie last year. She uploaded a picture of them on social media, wearing matching blue hoodies while sharing sushi on the beach, and wrote in the caption that "Laundrie asked me to marry him and I said yes!"

READ NEXT: Gabby Petito Case: Brian Laundrie's Father Joins FBI Search for His Fugitive Son at Florida's Carlton Reserve

Search for Gabby Petito's Fiance

Gabby Petito disappeared on a cross-country road trip with Brian Laundrie. The couple was traveling to Oregon when the YouTuber stopped communicating with her family in Wyoming in late August.

Laundrie was named a person of interest by North Port police after returning home on September 1 or 10 days before Petito was reported missing by her family.

Laundrie has been on the run for several weeks now. His parents announced that he was missing on September 17.  

On September 19, Petito's body was found at the Spread Creek Dispersed Campground near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

BBC News reported that a coroner made an initial finding that her death was a homicide but gave no indication of how she died.

Petito's family believes that Laundrie holds the answers to what happened to their daughter. Nichole had called on Laundrie to turn himself in.

She said it's only getting more and more frustrating as days go on, adding that she "don't know what's taking so long," Fox News reported.

Brian Laundrie's father, Christopher Laundrie, has searched the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in Florida on Thursday to assist law enforcement looking for his fugitive son. 

Steve Bertolino, the Laundrie family attorney, said law enforcement asked Laundrie's dad to join the search to point out his son's favorite trails or spots in the park. But after they spent hours at the reserve, there were no discoveries.

On Wednesday, a source close to the Laundrie family told CNN's Chris Cuomo that police had found "remnants" of a makeshift camp at the Carlton Reserve that appeared to have been recently used.

But on Thursday, North Port Police spokesperson Josh Taylor said that no campsite was found. The FBI, the lead investigating agency in Brian Laundrie's manhunt, has also never confirmed the finding.

Missing Florida Teen Found Amid Brian Laundrie's Manhunt

Meanwhile, the North Port Police Department in Florida announced on Friday that missing Desirae Malava-Ortiz had been located as Brian Laundrie's manhunt continued.

According to another Fox News report, the missing 16-year-old was reported missing on Thursday evening after she left her home in Roxbury Circle earlier this week.

Josh Taylor said Malava-Ortiz has contacted her family on Thursday evening, and on Friday afternoon, the teen "was reunited" with them.

North Port police are still trying to locate Gabby Petito's fiance after he was reported missing. His parents said they last saw him on September 13.

READ MORE: Brian Laundrie Manhunt: Parents of Gabby Petito's Fiancé Change the Date of Florida Fugitive's Disappearance

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Brian Laundrie's Dad Joins Search at Carlton Reserve - From Fox 13 Tampa Bay