Missing Indiana Woman Lateche Norris Found, Petito Family Helped

Lateche Norris -- the young woman from Indiana who vanished after taking a trip to San Diego to visit her BF -- has been found after being missing for weeks ... with an assist from Gabby Petito's family.

TMZ just spoke to the 20-year-old's father, Walter Callum, who tells us Lateche is currently with her mother, Cheryl Walker, somewhere in California. More importantly, we're told she is safe.

No other details about her recent whereabouts have surfaced just yet ... but we're waiting to hear back from Cheryl here in a bit.

If you hadn't heard about this story ... it's pretty crazy, and has echoes of Gabby Petito's case. Word is ... Lateche took a cross-country trip from Indiana in early November to visit her boyfriend, Joseph Smith, who had moved out west to California.

Lateche touched down in San Diego, but was reported missing not too long after ... as her parents lost contact with her, and the local authorities got involved. Her mom has said she believes there was some sort of fight between her daughter and Smith.

SD police posted surveillance video from a local 7-11, which apparently depicted Lateche inside. This is said to be the last time anyone had seen her, way back on Nov. 4.

There's also this ... we've learned that Gabby Petito's parents have actually been involved in helping Lateche's family. We're told Gabby's mom and dad have been giving Lateche's parents advice on how to deal with the media, and how to cope with the disappearance of their child. They've also been sharing the story a lot on social media.