What you should know
- The family of a missing Long Island woman asks for help finding her. The young woman 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, but the police have not provided more details about where it was located, the state of the truck or what could have been found inside.
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NEW YORK – Police in North Port, Florida, announced that the fiancé of a Long Island woman who disappeared while traveling through Wyoming is a person of interest in this case, raising suspicions after it emerged that he was in Florida. days before she was reported missing and due to refusing to speak to authorities.
That man, Brian Laundrie, returned to Florida with his truck but without Gabby Petito earlier this week. Petito’s family released a statement Tuesday accusing Laundrie of choosing to “stay in the background” rather than providing answers about the 22-year-old’s whereabouts or why he left her alone while they were traveling on a “van journey of life. “.
Authorities have said Laundrie has not made himself available for interview by investigators or provided details.
“As a parent, I can imagine the pain and suffering that Gabby’s family is going through. We are pleading with anyone, including Brian, to share information with us about her whereabouts in recent weeks. Brian’s lack of information is hampering this investigation. Answers will eventually come out. We will help find Gabby and help find anyone who may be involved in her disappearance, “North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison said in a statement.
Petito’s family previously shared a statement that also said Laundrie refuses to answer questions that may lead to the young woman’s whereabouts.
“The Schmidt and Petito family are going through the worst times of their lives. Their beautiful 22-year-old daughter is missing and the only person who can help find Gabby refuses to help,” the family said in a statement. “Brian refuses to tell Gabby’s family where he last saw her. Brian also refuses to explain why he left Gabby alone and drove his truck to Florida. These are critical questions that require immediate answers.
“The Schmidt and Petito family beg the Laundrie family not to ‘stay in the background’ but to help them find who Brian was referring to as the love of his life. How does Brian take a back seat when Is he the only person who knows where Gabby is? The Schmidt family and Petito implore Brian to come over and at least tell us if we’re looking in the right area. “
The Petito and Schmidt family’s statement came just after an attorney representing the Laundrie family called this “extremely difficult time” for everyone involved.
Laundrie and her family will have no further comment at this time, the statement said, while noting that “we understand” that a search has been organized for Gabrielle, 22, (Gabby, as her associates say), of Blue Point in or near Grand Teton National Park, where he was last thought to have been.
“On behalf of the Laundrie family, we are hopeful that the search for Ms. Petito will be successful and that Ms. Petito will rejoin her family,” the statement said.
On Wednesday, Petito’s family issued another statement that read in part: “Brian, your silence is reprehensible! We beg you to do the right thing and help us get Gabby home.”
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LAST STATEMENT FROM GABBY PETITO’S FAMILY
With each day that the search for Gabby continues, the Schmidt and Petito family grows more desperate. They are frantically searching for answers and information about their daughter’s disappearance while Brian sits in the comfort of his home.
Brian claims he wants to sit in the background as we search for Gabby in the wilderness of Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks.
Brian left Gabby in the desert with grizzly bears and wolves while he sits in the comfort of his home. In his house!
Brian, how could you do this to Gabby? You selfishly remain silent while Gabby is alone in the desert.
Brian, your silence is reprehensible. We beg you to do the right thing and help us get 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.
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Petito was reported missing on September 11 by her family, but police say the family had not heard from her since the last week of August. She was traveling with her fiancé in a white 2012 Ford Transit when she stopped communicating.
Petito told her family that she and her fiancé were heading to Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming when she last contacted them.
Investigators recovered the 2012 truck over the weekend from Laundrie’s parents’ home in southwest Florida, but police did not share the condition of the truck or what may have been found inside. Investigators and the FBI fully processed the truck for evidence Tuesday, but have yet to release information. According to Petito’s relatives, the fiancé drove the truck back to Florida alone.
Weeks before his disappearance, on the afternoon of August 12, Petito and Laundrie were allegedly involved in some kind of discussion and the police were called. According to a Moab City, Utah Police report obtained by our sister network News 4 New YorkThe two had been arguing when the interaction got especially heated on his part, and he allegedly slapped Laundrie. In the end, according to the report, there were no significant physical injuries or violence and no charges were filed.
After speaking with Petito and Laundrie, the police classified the incident as an emotionally motivated mental health crisis. After the incident, the police suggested that the two should stay apart for the night until they recovered emotionally and were in a better state of mind. It was at this point that Petito kept the truck that night and the Police took Laundrie to a hotel. It is unclear what the couple was arguing about.
The young woman last posted photos on her Instagram profile on August 25, which was also the last day she spoke with her mother, and several social media users have commented on her photos, praying for her safe return.
However, on Tuesday police said Petito’s Instagram page was surprisingly removed, something they are investigating.
North Port Police said the search remains a missing persons case because there is no evidence that a crime has occurred, but they said they were interested in speaking with him to get as much information as possible. Laundrie has not cooperated with police so far, they said.
“I think most people would think that this person might have some details about the last time they saw her, the last whereabouts,” Josh Taylor of the Northport Police Department told a news conference. “I don’t think it was helpful that we couldn’t talk to him.”
Joe Petito, Gabby’s father, is furious at Laundrie’s lack of cooperation with the investigation, which also involves the FBI.
“If you want to help someone or hope someone will do something, or if you have information, or let’s say you don’t have information, you let people know,” Petito said. “You make yourself available so you can get those answers and then move on. You don’t do what he’s doing.”
Petito’s family previously posted a message on a Facebook group created to help search for her that read, “WE ARE JUST LOOKING FOR GABBY RIGHT NOW.” They also said that the two had been dating for at least two years. They met in high school, but later rekindled their relationship.
They said they liked the fiancé and approved of the trip the two were taking at the time Petito disappeared. Petito left for the trip on July 2 from his mother’s house. Her mother, Nicole Schmidt, told multiple media outlets that she had last received text messages from her daughter’s phone on August 27 and 30, but never spoke directly to her.
“I think she’s in danger because she’s not in contact with us. She could be stranded somewhere in the desert,” Schmidt said. “The first few days I didn’t get any answers. Day eight, day nine, I got really worried and thought she couldn’t be off the grid for that long.”
The couple appeared to have recently started a YouTube channel where they documented their “van life,” a popular lifestyle and genre on the platform. His first video was posted on August 19. He featured 8-minute footage of his trips in his white van.
“Gabby is 22 years old, she is a beautiful soul inside and out. She is artistic, creative, loving and free-spirited,” said her stepfather, James Schmidt. “We love her, we miss her, and we want her to come home.”
“Gabby, we love you, if you’re listening to this, pick up someone’s phone and call us, contact us. We’ll come find you in minutes, minutes. We’ll do everything we can,” Petito’s father Joe Petito said in an interview with NBC. New York on Tuesday. “Let’s focus on finding Gabby. We don’t know where she is, she’s still missing. She still needs our help.”
Petito’s father, Joe Petito, told Newsday that her daughter’s disappearance feels like “drowning with her hands tied behind her back.”
He added: “You cannot describe it. There is nothing you can do. You cannot control anything.”
Gabrielle Petito is described as a white female, approximately 5 feet 5 inches tall and 110 pounds. He has blonde hair and blue eyes, and several tattoos, including one on his finger and one on his forearm that says “let it be“.
Several agencies in addition to the Florida and New York authorities are assisting in the investigation of Petito’s whereabouts.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the National Park Service said: “We are coordinating with various law enforcement agencies as part of the investigation into Gabrielle Petito’s whereabouts. As the investigation is ongoing, we have no further information to provide at this moment”.
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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