On Saturday 11 September, a young woman named Gabby Petito was reported missing by her mother. Since July, she had been on a roadtrip with her boyfriend.
What do we know so far about this case?
Gabby Petito:
Petito, a 22-year-old Instagrammer and van-life blogger from Blue Point, Suffolk County in New York is Petito.
She reportedly moved to North Port, Florida two years ago with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie.
According to Instagram, the couple had been together since March 2019 and got engaged in July 2020.
She and Laundrie embarked on a cross-country trip in a Ford van in July.
Petito had been sharing their journey via social media but communication has stopped. This is a cause for concern.
What is known about her disappearance?
According to her mother, Nicole Schmidt, Petito and Laundrie left for their trip from Petito’s hometown of Blue Point.
Schmidt told KSL: “She wanted to cross the country in the camper van and live the van life and live free. This was her dream.”
The trip was expected to end in Oregon in October, but nobody has heard from Petito since the end of August.
The couple posted Instagram photos indicating that they had visited Kansas in the early part of July and then traveled to Colorado.
In mid-July, they were seen camping in Zion National Park in Utah.
Petito’s next post from 21 July showed they were in Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah before moving on to Monroe, Utah.
They posted images from Canyonlands National Park on 31 July. Her next post wouldn’t be until 12 days later.
According to police reports, the couple got into a physical altercation on 12 August – around a week before Petitio was last seen.
Officers from Utah’s Moab Police Department were contacted by a man identifying himself as Christopher, who expressed concern about a possible domestic disturbance.
According to police reports, Petito and Laundrie were stopped by police near Arches National Park.
Petito was said to be “crying uncontrollably” and told officers she had been struggling with her mental health.
Police found that Petito and Laundrie had been in an argument. Petito refused to go for a walk to calm her down.
According to the police report: “[Petito] didn’t want to be separated from the male, and began slapping him.
“He grabbed her face and pushed her back as she pressed upon him and the van, he tried to lock her out and succeeded except the driver’s door.
“She opened that and forced her way over him and into the vehicle before it drove off.”
Police officer Daniel Scott Robbins determined: “After evaluating the totality of the circumstances, I do not believe the situation escalated to the level of domestic assault as much of that as a mental health crisis.”
Petito has posted just 4 times on Instagram since August 12. Her last post was 26 August. She was last heard of by her family 30 August.
That’s when she texted her mother to say she was heading to Yellowstone National Park and was losing phone signal.
Her mother reported Petito missing on September 11.
The Ford van that the couple were travelling in has been recovered in Florida and Laundrie is alive and well at his parents’ home in Florida.
Laundrie refused to talk to authorities about his girlfriend’s disappearance and hired an attorney.
The lawyer representing the Laundrie family told Insider in a statement: “This is understandably an extremely difficult time for both the Petito family and the Laundrie family.
“It is our understanding that a search has been organized for Miss Petito in or near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
“On behalf of the Laundrie family, it is our hope that the search for Miss Petito is successful and that Miss Petito is re-united with her family.
“On the advice of counsel, the Laundrie family is remaining in the background at this juncture and will have no further comment.”
Petito’s family said in a statement through their attorney: “Brian is refusing to tell Gabby’s family where he last saw her.
“Brian is also refusing to explain why he left Gabby all alone and drove her van to Florida. These are critical questions that require immediate answers.”
On 15 September, police named Laundrie as a person of interest in Petitio’s disappearance and confirmed he is still refusing to cooperate with authorities.
North Port police in Florida confirmed that Laundrie had returned to his parent’s house alone on 1 September – ten days before Petito was reported missing.
Petito’s family lawyer called Laundrie “reprehensible” for not helping with the investigation into his girlfriend’s disappearance.
The lawyer said: “Brian, your silence is reprehensible! We beg you to do the right thing and help us bring Gabby home.
“Brian, whatever happened in Wyoming, happened. The only thing you can control is what you do now. Tell us where Gabby is. You tarnish your love for her with your silence.”
Laundrie’s lawyer reiterated that his client would not be speaking to the police.
They replied: “In my experience, intimate partners are often the first person law enforcement focuses their attention on in cases like this and the warning that ‘any statement made will be used against you’ is true, regardless of whether my client had anything to do with Ms. Petito’s disappearance.
“As such, on the advice of counsel Mr. Laundrie is not speaking on this matter.”