Cassie Laundrie, the sister of Gabby Petito’s fiance Brian Laundrie, spoke out about Petito’s disappearance Friday, while Laundrie has refused to speak with authorities. Petito, 22 years old, has been missing since August 25, and her mother reported her missing on Sept. 11. This week, Laundrie (23 years old) was officially named as a person of concern in the case. In an interview with Good Morning America, Cassie said Petito is “like a sister” to her.
“Obviously, I and my family want Gabby to be found safe,” Cassie told GMA. “My children love her, and all I want is for her to come home safe and found, and this to be just a big misunderstanding,” Cassie said that she has been cooperative with authorities and hopes Petito is still around. “I talked to the police the second they called,” She said. “I called them right back. We were in Orlando on vacation with my kids at Disney and we came back to this.” Brian has not spoken with her since Sept. 1.
On the same day Cassie’s interview aired, Florida police were seen at the Laundrie home, reports ABC News. They did not speak with Laundrie himself, but with other members of the family “at their request.” The North Port, Florida police department hoped Laundrie and his parents were open to speaking with them. Police said that he has no criminal record and that there have never been any domestic disputes between him and Petito.
Petito and Laundrie set out on a journey across the U.S. in a Ford Transit van. The van was white and they left Florida to head to New York. Petito documented the trip on YouTube. Her last sighting was Aug. 25, when Petito and Laundrie stopped in Grand Teton National Park as they traveled to Yellowstone. Six days later, Laundrie arrived suddenly at his North Port parents’ house. Petito’s mother filed an appeal for missing persons on September 11. “The only reason you invoke your Fifth [Amendment right], in my opinion, is because you don’t want to incriminate yourself,” Petito’s father, Joseph Petito, told PEOPLE. “I’m not trying to accuse nobody, but right now, it looks like you are guilty.”
This week, police named Laundrie a person of interest, as he has not spoken to them. Moab, Utah officials also released body camera footage dated August 12, when Petito was pulled over by police after receiving 911 calls about a domestic disorder. In the footage, a crying Petito told police the two were fighting over “personal issues.” Utah investigators looked into a possible connection between Petito’s disappearance and the brutal murders of Kylen Schulte and Crystal Turner but found no connection, reports KUTV. Schulte worked in Moonflower Co-Up where Petito and Laundrie were fighting.
The Utah incident resulted in no criminal charges. Cassie told GMA the two often got into arguments. “It looks typical of both of them,” Cassie said. “Whenever they fight, they would take a little break and come back and be fine.”
Petito is described to be white, tall at 5′ 5″ and 110 lbs. She has blonde hair and blue eye, as well as several tattoos. Anyone with information about Petito’s whereabouts is asked to call 800-CALL-FBI.