(Trends Wide) — The case of the disappearances of Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie remains unsolved, although human remains were discovered Sunday that fit the description of the young woman, according to the FBI.
With this discovery, the investigation now focuses on the search for Laundrie, Petito’s fiancé. In June, the couple went on a road trip to various states in the western United States. However, in September, Laundrie returned home without Petito.
What has happened? We present you all the updated information on this case.
June
Gabby Petito (22 years old) and Brian Laundrie (23 years old) began a trip through several western states in June, leaving online reviews of the campsites they visited. To make the tour, they used a white Ford pickup from Petito.
“(Gabby Petito) had regular contact with her family members during her trip. However, that communication was abruptly cut off in late August,” said Todd Garrison, North Port Police Chief.
August 12, 2021
Police in Moab, Utah, had an encounter with Petito and Laundrie on August 12, describing that the couple had “been involved in some kind of altercation.”
Although Laundrie and Petito had a physical fight after an argument, “both the man and the woman reported that they are in love and engaged to be married and that they did not desperately want to see anyone charged with a crime,” according to the police officer Eric’s report. Pratt.
At the suggestion of the police, Laundrie and Petito separated at night, according to the report. One agent described Gabby Petito as “confused and emotional.”
“After evaluating the totality of the circumstances, I do not believe that the situation has risen to the level of an attack as much as a mental health crisis,” wrote Officer Daniel Robbins in the police report. No charges were filed.
The couple each had their own cell phone in case of emergency, the report added.
last week of august
Petito’s family told police they were last in contact with her during the last week of August, according to North Port Police.
Before that latest communication, Petito is believed to have been in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park, police say.
At a press conference on Thursday, September 16, the Petito family’s attorney, Richard Stafford, said that the family’s last communication with Gabby Petito was on August 30, but the family did not believe the message that received out of it. That day, the lawyer refused to share what the message said or why they did not believe it was written by her.
On Friday, September 17, Stafford shared a timeline of events, as the family knows it:
- On August 24, Petito spoke on FaceTime with his mother, telling her that he was leaving Utah and heading to the Teton Mountain Range in Wyoming.
- On August 25, there were multiple text messages between Petito and his mother. The young woman’s family believes she was in the Teton Range on this date.
- On August 27, there were more text messages between Petito and his mother, during which his family believed that she remained in Wyoming in Teton.
- On August 30, his family receives one last text message from Petito. They doubt that she wrote it. According to Stafford, that message read: “There is no service in Yosemite.”
September 1st
On Wednesday, September 1, Brian Laundrie returned to the house where he lives with Petito and where the 23-year-old man’s parents also live, according to police. However, Laundrie returned without Gabby Petito.
The white vehicle Petito and Laundrie were traveling in was later recovered by police at the home. The vehicle was processed and “there was some material there” that authorities will review, North Port police spokesman Josh Taylor said at a news conference Wednesday, Sept. 15.
11 of September
After being unable to contact her, Petito’s family, who live in New York, reported her missing on Saturday night, September 11, to the Suffolk County Police Department, New York.
North Port authorities went to Laundrie’s home that night asking to speak to him and his family, but “basically gave us his lawyer’s information,” said Taylor, the police spokesman. “That was the extent of our conversation with them,” he added.
16 of September
In a letter read by the Petito family’s lawyer during the police press conference on September 16, the family of the missing girl pleaded with Laundrie’s family to assist in the investigation.
“Please, if you or your family have any decency left, please tell us where Gabby is,” said attorney Stafford. “Tell us if we are looking in the right place. All we want is for Gabby to come home. Please help us make that happen.”
The attorney added that Petito’s family contacted Laundrie’s family in early September to obtain information on where Petito might be, but his family declined to respond.
“We have not been able to sleep or eat, and our lives are falling apart,” adds the letter from the Petito family.
September, 17th
After Petito’s family and the police pleaded for several days for their cooperation in the investigation, Laundrie’s family asked the police to come to their home on Friday, September 17, indicating that they had not seen Brian since the Tuesday, Sept. 14, according to Taylor, the North Port police spokesman.
“We’ve been trying all week to talk to his family, to talk to Brian, and now they called us on Friday, we went to the house and they say they haven’t seen their son now,” Taylor told Trends Wide’s Chris Cuomo on Friday night. . “It’s another twist on this story.”
Laundrie’s family attorney, Steven Bertolino, told Trends Wide late Friday that “Brian Laundrie’s whereabouts are currently unknown. The FBI is currently at Laundrie’s residence removing belongings to help locate Brian. A As of now, the FBI is now looking for Gabby and Brian. “
So the local and federal authorities they started the search of the 23-year-old man.
“It is important to note that although Brian is a person of interest in Gabby’s disappearance, he is not wanted for a crime,” North Port police said on Twitter Friday night. “We are not currently working on a crime investigation. We are now working on a multiple missing persons (investigation).”
September 18
North Port police said Saturday, Sept. 18, authorities were conducting a search for Laundrie in the Carlton Preserve, a wilderness area with more than 80 miles of hiking trails in Venice, Florida.
About 50 security officials from five local agencies and the FBI were looking for Laundrie, Taylor said at a news conference on Saturday, September 18, adding that Laundrie had an “enormous amount of pressure” on him to provide answers about what It was happening.
Meanwhile, the FBI announced on saturday that the agency and its partners were also conducting field surveys in Grand Teton National Park that were relevant to Petito’s disappearance.
This national park is the place where Petito is believed to have been before his last communication with his family, according to previously reported by the police.
September 19th
On Sunday, September 19, human remains were discovered in Teton County, Wyoming, which “fit the description of” Gabby Petito, FBI officials said at a news conference.
“Full forensic identification has not been completed to confirm 100% that we have found Gabby, but her family has been notified of this discovery,” said Charles Jones, the FBI’s senior resident supervising agent in Denver in Wyoming.
Jones opened the press conference with his condolences to Petito’s family.
The search for Laundrie in Florida’s Carlton Reservation continued on Sunday until about 6:00 p.m. ET.
September 20
Now, the case centers on the search for Brian Laundrie. This search had focused on a nature preserve near the man’s home, but North Port police said Monday, September 20, they changed their focus.
“At this time, we believe we have exhausted all avenues of search at that location,” North Port Police spokesman Josh Taylor said Monday.
On the other hand, Dr. Brent Blue, a coroner for Teton County (Wyoming), told Trends Wide that an autopsy of the human remains found on Sunday was scheduled for Tuesday, September 21.
With information from Linh Tran and Madeline Holcombe of Trends Wide *