Joshua
Missing Wife: Victoria
Husband: Joshua
Location: Provo, UT
Disappeared: July 2025
Relationship Length: They met around 2015/2016 and were married in 2017.
THE LOVE STORY
Joshua lives in Provo, Utah, where he owns and operates a private driving instruction and road-testing business.
Joshua met Victoria in approximately 2015: Victoria hired Joshua to teach her how to drive.
Victoria had recently moved to Utah from Seattle and was learning to drive as an adult.
On their final driving lesson, Victoria asked Joshua if he would give her a tour of the coolest places in Provo. From that point forward, they were practically inseparable.
Joshua describes falling in love with Victoria as unlike anything he'd experienced before.
Faith was a major part of their relationship; however, they were Episcopalian, not Mormon/LDS.
A PROPOSAL AND A DISAPPEARANCE
After dating for approximately one year, Joshua knew he wanted to marry Victoria. He took her back to the location of their first date and proposed.
Everything seemed to be falling into place. Their wedding invitations had been sent, the programs had been printed, and the wedding was just two weeks away.
Then, completely unexpectedly, Victoria came to Joshua and told him she couldn't do it anymore. She drove away, and Joshua wouldn't see or hear from her for approximately 7 months.
Joshua was devastated and had absolutely no idea where she was or what had happened.
He suspected she might have gone to Colorado to be with family, but he had no way of confirming that.
Leading up to that, before she left, Joshua remembers noticing a man seemingly following them and even catching him going through their trash.
He later discovered that the man was a private investigator hired by Victoria's father.
REKINDLING & GETTING MARRIED
After months without contact, Victoria suddenly emailed Joshua, saying she'd been thinking about him, had never stopped loving him, was sorry, and wanted to meet.
They reunited within a week, and their relationship quickly fell back into place.
His friends and family were more cautious this time, but Joshua was still completely in love and ready to move forward.
Joshua had kept Victoria's engagement ring on a necklace around his neck throughout the entire time she was gone.
She told him that she wished that they could get married.
They married in 2017, with their Episcopal priest, Father Peter, officiating.
A HAPPY MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY THEY BUILT
Despite the earlier disappearance, Joshua describes their married life as wonderful.
There was one unexpected development: on the day they returned from their honeymoon, Victoria told him that her mother would be moving in with them.
Despite the surprise in-law, Joshua remembers their first year of marriage as incredibly happy. They traveled, went on dates, spent time together, and enjoyed building their life.
Eventually, Victoria became pregnant with twins. Joshua and Victoria had actually joked about wanting twins, so discovering they were expecting twin girls was incredibly exciting.
Their daughters were born in 2019. For Joshua, life felt complete. He had the wife he loved, two beautiful daughters, and the family he'd always wanted.
THE MARCH 2025 INCIDENT
In March 2025, Victoria told Joshua that her sister had attempted suicide and was in a very bad place.
Shortly afterward, her sister unexpectedly showed up in Provo and suggested that they go to lunch.
Victoria, her sister, and the girls went out together. Joshua stayed home because he was working and recovering from a kidney transplant he'd undergone in February.
Joshua spoke with Victoria several times throughout the day, but around 7–8 p.m., her phone began going straight to voicemail. After repeatedly calling, texting, and emailing, he contacted police around midnight, fearing for Victoria, her sister, and his daughters.
Police explained that because Victoria was an adult and had custody of the children, there was little they could do without evidence of immediate danger. There was no crime or threat or anything for them to act on.
Approximately 40 hours later, Victoria contacted Joshua from a new number, saying she had left because she felt he didn’t want them around. Joshua was bewildered as that couldn’t be farther from the truth. He had spent the entire time worried about their safety.
Joshua was overcome with emotion when they returned. The couple began marriage counseling, and Victoria described the incident as a momentary lapse, promising it would never happen again. Joshua believed her.
THE FINAL DISAPPEARANCE
July 21, 2025, it was an ordinary morning. Joshua, Victoria, and their twin daughters spent extra time together in bed, talking and enjoying some family time.
Victoria got the girls ready for their weekly gymnastics class. Joshua stayed home to work and manage his business.
The couple had plans to meet later that day at a doctor's office for their required annual work physicals.
Joshua texted Victoria approximately 30 minutes before the appointment to see if she was on her way. She never responded.
After the March incident, Victoria had installed a location-sharing app on her phone as a way to rebuild trust. Joshua checked it and discovered that her location was no longer available.
He went to the doctor's office and waited, but Victoria never arrived.
He repeatedly called her before deciding to drive to the recreation center where the girls attended gymnastics.
Their family truck was still in the parking lot. Joshua searched the pool and gymnastics areas, assuming perhaps the family had lost track of time.
A front-desk employee told him she'd seen Victoria and the girls, but that they'd left many hours earlier.
Joshua went back to the truck and entered the door code. Inside, he discovered Victoria's keys sitting on the front seat. The children's car seats were gone.
Joshua says he didn't immediately call police because he believed she had voluntarily taken off. But this time, she never came back.
THE PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR AND A SHOCKING FAMILY SECRET
During their marriage, Joshua learned a surprising family secret. When Victoria was a young teenager, her mother had lost custody of Victoria and her sister after a court order awarded custody to their father.
According to the story Joshua was eventually told, Victoria's mother was supposed to turn the girls over to their father but never showed up. Instead, she kidnapped the girls and disappeared with them.
Victoria and her sister spent years moving between locations, hiding, and using different identities.
Victoria's mother was eventually arrested for kidnapping. Her father, however, continued searching for his daughters for years.
The private investigator (the man who had been going through their trash years before,) was hired by Victoria’s father to find Victoria.
Victoria had told Joshua that her father was abusive and that she and her mother had run to escape him. The truth is unclear.
When Joshua met Victoria, she was actually a missing person under a different name. He didn't even learn her birth name until after they were married.
Joshua would eventually discover that Victoria's mother had a history of secrecy and what he describes as living double or triple lives.
THE DAYS AND MONTHS FOLLOWING
Joshua began desperately trying to contact Victoria. He sent what he estimates were approximately 100 emails over several days.
He contacted law enforcement, but initially encountered the same response as in March: Victoria was an adult, and she had custody of the children.
He hired an attorney and began the lengthy legal process of obtaining custody and legal authority in order to recover the children safely and legally.
In October 2025, he pursued a temporary restraining order which would prevent Victoria from leaving the state with their daughters. There was a scheduled hearing.
The day before the hearing, Victoria contacted police and made allegations against Joshua, including claims that he had threatened to kill the children.
Joshua disputes those allegations and says he has never threatened or harmed his family. These were false accusations. He’s been nothing but a loving, kind and faithful family man, husband and father. He believes she did this in an effort to sabotage his success at the hearing.
Victoria's attorney initially appeared at the hearing but said he had been mysteriously fired earlier that day. The hearing was delayed for another 30 days.
Victoria subsequently failed to appear at the next hearing.
An injunction was eventually issued ordering the return of the children to their marital home and restricting Victoria from leaving the state.
By September 2026 Joshua had obtained an extraditable felony warrant for custodial interference/parental abduction.
In order to obtain full parental custody, and to obtain the felony warrant he had to get a divorce. He never wanted a divorce, or to end his marriage. It was for the safety and wellbeing of his daughters.
THE IMPACT ON JOSHUA
Joshua describes this experience as the worst thing he could ever imagine.
Not knowing where his children are, who they’re with, or whether they’re safe has been devastating. He feels a mixture of desperation, anger, grief, and helplessness.
When he first began asking for help, people online questioned his character.
Joshua says he has had to work twice as hard to defend any wrongdoing on his behalf, simply because he’s a man. People initially viewed him with suspicion based solely on the fact that it’s a wife who had disappeared with the children from her husband.
However, he says the warrant, restraining order and his pleas for help have helped to change perception about him.
His home remains almost exactly as it was when they left. His daughters’ rooms, belongings, and photographs, along with his wife’s things, are still there.
He carries the girls’ favorite stuffed animals in his car so that, if he gets the call that they’ve been found, he can bring them something familiar.
WHAT JOSHUA HAS DONE TO FIND THEM
Joshua has spent an enormous amount of time working with local law enforcement, the county attorney, and his own attorney.
He’s written directly to Victoria, and of course, called, texted and emailed.
He's attended multiple city council meetings, directly asking the mayor to make finding the missing girls a priority.
He's recruited friends and family to help spread the word.
He has created and distributed missing-person flyers, posting and mailing them to recreation centers, gyms, and places where the girls might be.
He has created Facebook and Instagram pages to raise awareness.
Has worked with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Has also consulted with a child psychologist to better understand the potential trauma his daughters may be experiencing.
Police detectives have also been assigned to the case, but haven’t turned up leads as of yet.
THE MYSTERIES AND UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
Victoria's mother: what does she know?
Joshua believes Victoria’s mother may have information or know more than she is letting on.
Joshua says that after the warrant was issued, Victoria’s mother and others around her moved. He wonders whether they were trying to avoid him and scrutiny.
Victoria’s mother was also allegedly kidnapped by her own mother as a young teenager and spent years living under different identities. And she did the same to her daughters. Now Joshua fears his daughters may be experiencing the same thing. Could history be repeating itself?
What really happened between Victoria and her father?
Joshua was originally told that Victoria's father was abusive and that her mother had taken the girls to protect them.
But he later spoke directly with Victoria's father, who told him a very different story. They spoke on the phone for approximately six and a half hours.
Joshua had expected to speak with someone he'd been told was a monster. Instead, he encountered a deeply hurt man who had spent years looking for his daughters.
What is the truth about the original kidnapping, and what happened to Victoria and her sister during those years?
Was there another man involved?
Joshua's attorney uncovered evidence suggesting Victoria may have been having another affair shortly before she disappeared.
After she left, an unknown man called Joshua's attorney, canceled an appointment, and asked questions about the case.
The attorney provided Joshua with the number, and Joshua traced it to someone who had previously interacted with Victoria through his driving school. Who was this man?
Was Victoria pregnant? Is there another child?
Before Victoria disappeared, Joshua noticed she had experienced morning sickness and suspected she might be pregnant.
He initially wondered whether a pregnancy could have been a reason for her departure.
Joshua later discovered that Victoria's mother, who was approximately 53, had given birth to a new baby.
Joshua initially wondered whether the baby might actually be Victoria's.
He still doesn't know whether Victoria herself could also be pregnant?
Could there be another child involved in this already complicated family story?
Where are the girls, and what is happening to them?
Joshua worries that the girls are being moved from place to place and living under the same kind of secrecy Victoria experienced growing up.
He fears they may be missing out on normal childhood experiences, friendships, family connections, and medical care.
Before they disappeared, both girls needed dental work and treatment for umbilical hernias. Joshua doesn't know whether they've received the care they need.
He also doesn't know what names or identities they're currently using, or whether anyone around them knows who they really are.
WHY JOSHUA NEEDS TO FIND VICTORIA AND THE GIRLS
Joshua’s primary motivation is finding his daughters.
He believes they are with Victoria and wants to know that they're safe.
He has repeatedly reached out to Victoria, including on birthdays and Christmas, asking for even a simple Zoom call with the girls.
He also wants Victoria to know that he isn't trying to erase her from their lives.
Despite everything, Joshua says he still loves Victoria and believes she deserves to be part of their daughters' lives if that can happen safely and in a healthy way.
He doesn't envision a future where he and Victoria return to being married, but he wants their daughters to have both parents in their lives.