In the mysterious case of the missing Gabby Petito, the authorities are looking for her missing friend in a nature reserve in Florida. Police and FBI forces combed the Carlton reservation on Saturday.
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“There are currently false reports of a body found where we are looking,” said North Port Police. The 23-year-old Brian Laundrie was last seen by his family on Tuesday. Why they only reported the young man missing on Friday remained open.
Petito and Laundrie, who lived together in North Port, set off on a trip to the western United States in a converted van in July. Gabby, 22, did not return. The authorities have been feverishly looking for her for days.
According to the police, the friend returned home alone on September 1, and ten days later, Petito’s parents reported their daughter as missing.
Petito’s family accused the 23-year-old of hiding. CNN quoted the family lawyer Richard Stafford as saying that he was not missing.
Complicated search
“We can understand the frustration of the public, we are also frustrated,” the investigators announced on Friday. For days she and the parents of the missing Petito appealed to the friend and his family to speak up. But they had been silent so far.
In the United States, the authorities have been feverishly looking for 22-year-old Gabby Petito for days. The case is also making headlines outside the country. The couple initially shared numerous beautiful pictures of their road trip together in a converted van through the United States via social media.
Recordings from a police camera
But there are also recordings from a police body camera: In mid-August, the police in the US state of Utah were reportedly called to the couple and their car about a possible case of domestic violence. Petito can then be seen crying, she looks relaxed.
Police believe Petito was in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming before she last had contact with her family.
The friend was a “person of interest” in connection with Petito’s disappearance, but he was not wanted for a crime, the investigators said on Friday. “We are currently not working to solve a crime.” It is an investigation into several missing people.
The Federal Police FBI set up a nationwide telephone hotline and asked the population for information on the possible whereabouts of the 22-year-old Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito. “We are just as frustrated as everyone else,” said Florida police chief Todd Garrison on Thursday. “Two people have set out on a journey, one has returned and he does not share any information with us.”
Petito last had contact with her family in late August when she was believed to be in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. (dpa, AFP)
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