What you should know
- The family of a missing Long Island woman is begging for help finding her; She was traveling through Wyoming with her fiancé on a “van life trip” and documenting her activities on Instagram and YouTube.
- Gabrielle Petito’s family believed she was in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming when she last contacted them; They haven’t heard from her since the last week of August, but reported her missing on September 11.
- The truck has been recovered and authorities were expected to begin a forensic analysis this week.
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NEW YORK – A Long Island woman who disappeared during a nomadic journey across the country in a caravan with her fiancé is the subject of a nationwide search, and authorities are expected to provide further updates Thursday, a day after it tagged as a person of interest in his disappearance.
Police in North Port, Florida, where Gabby Petito lived with her fiancé Brian Laundrie and his parents, are now leading the investigation into the disappearance of the 22-year-old blogger who disappeared after the couple’s trip to Wyoming. They had been traveling for almost two months.
Petito’s family reported her missing on Saturday, but had not heard from her in three weeks. Petito’s stepfather on Thursday was placing missing persons flyers near Grand Teton National Park, where he believed she had last contacted him.
Laundrie arrived at his parents’ home two weeks ago, apparently driving in the truck the couple was riding together, but he was alone.
On Wednesday, police posted photos of the truck and took them to social media in their search for Petito because they say Laundrie has not cooperated.
“We don’t know what Brian knows. That’s the bottom line and we were hoping to talk to him. He needs to talk to us,” said North Port Police Department spokesman Josh Taylor. “We need to know exactly where he was, where she was, her last location.”
Researchers have released very few details so far to protect the integrity of the investigation. What is clear is that Laundrie was in Florida 10 days before Petito’s disappearance was reported and just before the couple were in Wyoming, they were seen arguing in southern Utah.
When authorities came to his home to question him and his parents on Saturday, Taylor said they “essentially turned the information over to his attorney.”
Because she refuses to speak to authorities, Laundrie has been named a person of interest in her disappearance, but her family attorney said the change is only a “formality” and that the circumstances surrounding the investigation have not changed.
“This formality has not really changed the circumstances in which Mr. Laundrie is the center and attention of law enforcement, and Mr. Laundrie will remain silent before the advice of an attorney,” attorney Steve Bertolino said in a statement. to Newsday.
North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison, who is leading the investigation along with the FBI, tweeted Wednesday night and publicly asked Bertolino to speak to police.
“Please call us to set up a conversation with Brian Laundrie. Two people went on a trip and one came back!” Garrison wrote.
In another statement emailed Wednesday, Bertolino said Laundrie’s family “remains in the background” as the search continues and will have no further comment.
“In my experience, intimate partners are often the first person law enforcement turns their attention to in cases like this and the caveat that ‘any statement made will be used against them’ is true, regardless of whether my Client had something to do with Ms. Petito’s disappearance. As such, on the counsel of the attorney, Mr. Laundrie does not speak on this matter, ”said Bertolino.
Petito and Laundrie were childhood sweethearts in Suffolk County, but moved from Blue Point, New York, in 2019 to live with their parents in North Port, which is about 34 miles south of Sarasota. They set out on their July trip from New York, saying on social media accounts that they intended to arrive in Oregon for Halloween.
An eight-minute YouTube video titled “Van Life: Beginning our Van Life Journey” features scenes from the couple’s journey.
“Little Gabby, she never goes outside,” she says as she walks with Brian on the beach. The video, with music, has almost 450,000 views: Sunsets. Gabby was driving the white truck. Gabby running down the beach. Gabby preparing food. Other images show the couple sharing kisses, flipping backwards on swings and cartwheeling on the beach.
“I love the truck,” he says near the end of the video as the camera focuses on the white Ford parked in the Utah desert.
The entry is the only one published on his YouTube channel, Nomadic Statik.
“Thank you so much for seeing us and we hope you will join us on our journey wherever the truck takes us!” they wrote.
However, there are indications that something was seriously wrong.
Police in the southern Utah resort town of Moab responded to a call about a possible domestic violence incident that officers say was more of a mental health crisis involving the couple on Aug. 12. Officers said in a police report that no significant injuries were observed.
A witness called 911 and said he saw Laundrie and Petito fighting over a phone, according to the police report. When Laundrie got back to the truck, Petito punched him on the arm before trying to climb out of the driver’s side window.
Officers said they stopped the van near the entrance to Arches National Park and saw Petito crying uncontrollably in the passenger seat. She told officers that she was struggling with her mental health.
“At no point in my investigation did Gabrielle stop crying, gasping, or composing a sentence without wiping tears, wiping her nose, or rubbing her knees with her hands,” Officer Daniel Robbins said in his report.
Laundrie reportedly told Robbins that emotional tension had been building between him and Petito and that they argued more often because they had been traveling together for four to five months.
Laundrie said that when the two started arguing in town, he had tried to separate himself from Petito so they could calm down. Laundrie said she got into the truck, but Petito was afraid he would leave without her, so she went to slap him and he pushed her to avoid the hit, according to the police report.
Officers recommended that the couple spend the night apart, but did not file any charges after the investigation.
It is not clear what happened next.
Questions about what Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Park officials are doing with the case were sent to the National Park Service headquarters in Washington, and spokeswoman Cynthia Hernandez said in an emailed statement that the agency is coordinating with other law enforcement agencies about Petito’s whereabouts.
Petito is Caucasian, 5 feet 5 inches tall and about 110 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes, police said. He has several tattoos, including one on his forearm that says “let it be”.
Petito’s family said in a statement they need answers from Laundrie, including the last time he saw her and “why he left Gabby alone and drove his truck to Florida.”
“These are critical questions that require immediate answers,” the statement said.
Suffolk detectives are asking anyone with information on Petito’s disappearance to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS.
The FBI has also established a national hotline for information: 1-800-CALLFBI.
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