Gabby Petito, 22, was reported missing by her family on September 11 after they had not heard from her in over two weeks.
Though (sadly) not too uncommon for someone to go missing, her case quickly captured the attention of the world, with over 1,000 tips being reportedly being sent in to detectives, pulling potential clues from across the world of social media.
Suspicions were cast on Petito’s boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, after the FBI raided his family home and apparently suspicious activity from her final days was allegedly unearthed.
The FBI tweeted on Monday it ‘is executing a court-authorized search warrant today at the Laundrie residence in North Port, FL relevant to the Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito investigation’.
‘No further details can be provided since this is an active and ongoing investigation,’ the FBI wrote.
Who is Gabby Petito?
Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Petito is a 22-year-old from Long Island who documented her travels with fiancé Brian on social media.
The van-life blogger posted a series of pictures showing a timeline of their adventures on her Instagram account.
Though she hails from New York, where she met her partner, the couple lived together in North Port, Florida.
Her mum, Nicole Schmidt, said the pair had met in high school in New York, but they had lived together for two years in Florida prior to the road trip.
What do we know so far about Gabby Petito’s disappearance?
Gabby Petito has been missing since September 11, 2021.
A body matching the description of Ms Petito, was discovered on September 20, but it is yet to be formally identified.
This is what officials know about the couple’s road trip and the blogger’s seemingly final movements:
Gabby Petito missing: a timeline of events
Gabby and Brian set off for their road trip in their van, where they planned to drive through Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park in the West Coast, while living in the vehicle.
She posts a photo of herself standing in front of the Monument Rocks Natural Landmark, Kansas.
Gabby posts photos from Colorado Springs and Grand Sand Dunes National Park and Reserve. She captions a post with: ‘Last day in colorado :) → Utah’.
A series of photos of Gabby, in a yellow top and denim shorts, are posted on her account revealing that she is in Zion National Park, Utah. The caption reads: ‘The past two nights camping in Zion have been so cool, literally. We hiked up here in about 100° and it was so nice coming back to our campsite, watching the sky fill with dark clouds, and view the lightning storm in the nice cool air of the light rain.’
Days later, she posts pictures of the couples’ cosy tent with cushions and a throw. She captions it with: ‘Brought a small piece of home to the canyons’. She then shares more photos the next day, with the first snap of the couple, showing the pair in the water at The Narrows in Zion National Park
Outlining the rest of the plans for the next part of their trip in Utah, Gabby shares that they’ll be heading from Zion National Park to Cedar Breaks and then Bryce Canyon National Park.
The couple stop off at the Mystic Hot Springs in Monroe, Utah. Gabby shares more pictures of herself and one of the pair kissing.
From their shared itineraries and photos, Gabby and Brian are now in Canyonland National Park.
After the couple take a break from posting, Gabby shares photos of Arches National Park. She explains that they hiked to Delicate Arch in the park, and that they camped for a night in Deviles Garden.
It has since been revealed that on these same dates, the police came across the pair. On dashcam footage, Gabby was shown crying, admitting they had been ‘fighting’ and had ‘some personal issues.’ She admits to scratching and slapping Brian after he told her to ‘calm down.’
Brian shares what remains his final Instagram picture, alongside a caption which reads: ‘Humans are primates, great apes in fact but I don’t know all how great we are as a species.’
Following another pause in posting, Gabby posts on Instagram and shares the couple’s first and only YouTube video titiled ‘VAN LIFE | Beginning our Van Life Journey’. The video shows clips of their journey so far including shots of the pair driving and some footage of her and Brian talking about the trip.
Gabby makes her final call to her family and informs them that she’s in Wyoming Grand Teton National Park. The next day, she posts several pictures of her standing in front of a butterfly wall, along with a photo presumably taken by Brian of her holding her phone. These are her last photos posted from the trip.
Gabby’s mother Nicole says she receives messages from her daughter until this date, but isn’t sure whether they were actually sent by her. On August 30, she receives Gabby’s final text message, which reportedly said her mobile service was limited in Yellowstone National Park – where the couple had planned to be.
The next day, Brian arrives back in North Port, Florida, which is a 37-hour drive away from Yellowstone. Police have since recovered the van the couple were travelling in. He refused to speak to police or officials since.
Later, on September 15, Brian’s attorney issued a statement, saying: ‘This is an extremely difficult time for both the Petito family and the Laundrie family. I understand 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.’
Nicole grows concerned and reports her daughter as missing with authorities at Suffolk County, New York.
The Petito family attorney, Richard Stafford, reads out a letter from them, saying: ‘Please, if you or your family have any decency left, please, tell us where Gabby is located. Tell us if we are even looking in the right place. All we want is for Gabby to come home. Please help us make that happen… We haven’t been able to sleep or eat, and our lives are falling apart.’
Brian Laundrie is reported as a missing person. The North Port Police confirm he has not been seen by his family since Tuesday and urge the public to get in touch with any information.
A body ‘consistent’ with the description of Petito was discovered on Sunday in a remote area of the Bridger-Teton National Forest, near the Spread Creek Dispersed campground where law enforcement officials had directed their search, FBI spokesman Charles Jones confirmed.
The FBI tweeted on Monday it ‘is executing a court-authorized search warrant today at the Laundrie residence in North Port, FL relevant to the Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito investigation’.
‘No further details can be provided since this is an active and ongoing investigation,’ the FBI wrote.
The FBI had announced a ‘search warrant’ two times before arriving at the scene.
Brian Laundrie remains at large.
Newly-discovered 911 audio reveals a caller in Utah claiming that Brian Laundrie hit his fiancé, missing YouTuber Gabby Petito.
The male caller tells a Grant County sheriff that a ‘gentleman’ driving a white van with a Florida license plate slapped a girl inside before the vehicle departed, according to the audio obtained by Fox News.
There is no official confirmation this is the couple.
An autopsy on the found body is expected sometime on Tuesday, September 21.
If you want to help in the search for Gabby Petito, you can donate to the GoFundMe page dedicated to her – which has raised over $52,700 (approx £38,250) at the time of writing.
A Facebook page has also been set up as part of the search effort, as well as a tip hotline: 1-800-220-8477.
MORE : Disturbing video of missing Youtuber and boyfriend before she vanished revealed
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