Fears for ‘missing’ Instagram model Jessica Stein after she stopped posting a year ago

Concerns are growing for a trailblazing Australian Instagram model who vanished from social media without a trace more than a year ago.

Jessica Stein, 38, was once a popular travel and fashion blogger, known for uploading idyllic photos of herself exploring the world in designer clothing.

She used to work with major international brands, and is widely regarded as one of the first influencers to make a living from sponsored posts.

So when Jessica suddenly stopped posting in January last year, her fans were understandably concerned and looking for answers. 

Prior to her disappearance, Jessica, who goes by the online pseudonym Tuula Vintage, had been keeping fans updated on her three-year-old daughter Rumi’s battle with a chromosome disorder. 

The little girl was diagnosed with Mosaic Trisomy 2, with Maternal Uni Parental Disomy 2 – an extremely rare disorder which has been diagnosed just 10 times.   

Since her departure from Instagram, Jessica’s last post has been flooded with comments from followers begging to know if she and her family are okay. 

‘How is your daughter going? I noticed you haven’t posted anything on Instagram in a long time and I hope she and you are doing well,’ one wrote.

‘Everything okay?’ another asked.  

After Jessica welcomed Rumi with her partner, Patrick Cooper, in 2017, fans began noticing the once-prolific social media user was posting less frequently.

Jessica last posted about Rumi in July 2019, when she uploaded photos of the pair cuddling on the couch at a luxury hotel in Shoal Bay, New South Wales.

‘This year has been a blur. One of our biggest hopes for 2019 was to spend as much time at home as possible, but we’ve somehow spent nearly five months of it living in hospital,’ she wrote. 

Jessica then spent another five months off social media, before returning on January 5, 2020, to share an impassioned post about the Australian bushfires. 

She has not posted on social media since.

Jessica suffered a rocky pregnancy due to complications from an injury she received after being hit by a car as a teenager.

Announcing her pregnancy on Instagram at seven months, Jessica revealed: ‘I experienced multiple pelvic and internal injuries after being hit by a car at 16 with ongoing pain and limitations, and was warned of what might never come to be.’ 

‘I’ve always wanted to adopt (as my incredible mum was) and my partner and I had been talking about it again just before this unexpected miracle happened,’ she added.

Jessica also revealed she’d suffered serious complications at 20 weeks when her water broke early as a result of her bladder injury from the crash.  

‘I don’t know the words to describe how hopeless I felt… not being able to control my own body, provide for my baby or see hope that we would make it through,’ she wrote.

Jessica added that while her partner was a ‘rock of support and positivity’, she had found the last few months the ‘loneliest’ of her life.

In October 2017, Jessica and Patrick launched a GoFundMe page titled ‘Our Little Warrior Rumi’ to raise money for Rumi’s medical treatments.

The page, which has since been disabled, raised $235,804 in donations.