Gabrielle Petito, 22, along with her fiancé Brian Laundrie, set out on a cross-country trip in a camper van.
Gabrielle Petito’s family reported her missing to the North Port, Fla., police department on Sept. 11. She vanished in the western United States while on a cross-country journey with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, who returned to his North Port home on Sept. 1 without Ms. Petito. To save money for the trip, Ms. Petito had been working as a pharmacy technician. According to her stepfather, Jim Schmidt, she met Mr. Laundrie, 23, at Bayport-Blue Point High School on Long Island.
The pair left New York on July 2 for a four-month tour in a modified camper van, and they documented much of the journey on social media with bright, happy photos. The terms “crossing the world in our tiny van” and “art, yoga, & veggies” appear near the top of Ms. Petito’s Instagram account.
FBI officials and the Jackson Police Department began conducting surveys in the areas of Grand Teton National Park where it is likely for Ms. Petito to be found. The FBI later began to seek information from anyone who might have seen the couple or the van they were traveling in. Since Mr. Laundrie went missing, he had become the main suspect for Ms. Petito’s dissapearance. The FBI had finally gotten Mr. Laundrie’s family to talk and it was noted that they believed for Ms. Petito’s parents to know information they’re not communicating.
The case of Gabrielle (Gabby) Petito went viral and led to protestors lining up outside the families home chanting “Where is Gabby?”. As of September 19, remains were found at a campground in Bridger-Teton National Forest, near Grand Teton National Park. The remains were thought to be ‘consistent’ with Gabby Petito which would later be confirmed by a forensic investigation. The cause of death has not yet been determined, but the hunt for Petito’s fiancé remains active.
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