Found Deceased WY - Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Petito, 22, Grand Teton National Park, 25 Aug 2021 #12

[otto]

This is my first post, but I've followed another case on Websleuths for a while. Since this one's local, I've been keeping an eye on it all week and thought it would get big but never expected this!

I just want to clear a few pieces. My apologies if these have already been addressed, as I can't quite keep up with the whole thread!
-Jackson Hole and Jackson are not totally equivalent. I think the TikTokker added to this confusion, but there is a distinction. JACKSON is the name of the main town in the area. So if BL asked for a ride "to Jackson" he was just asking to be taken into town. JACKSON HOLE is more of the region -- the whole valley that includes Jackson, a few other small towns, and most of GTNP. The campground they're looking for GP in is in Jackson Hole, technically, but still an hour or so north of Jackson. When BL asked to go to Jackson he was actually still in Jackson Hole. (A side note-- almost no one around here refers to "Jackson Hole" anyway unless we're out of town saying where we live. It's just called "the valley" locally.)
-Spread Creek Campground is not part of GTNP. I think the Daily Mail got this wrong. It's in Bridger-Teton National Forest. It is very close, almost bordering the park, but under a different agency. So you don't need reservations or a permit but probably need to register at the campsite due to stay length limits (5 days at the time of their trip). (More info here: Bridger-Teton National Forest - Dispersed Camping Areas (Undeveloped Campground))
-The idea of BL camping with only a small backpack and a tarp seems, to be honest, preposterous to me. It gets cold at night and you'd need a good sleeping bag even if you don't have shelter. Plus, all food items need to be secured from bears, and if he's just camping wherever, he would need a bear canister. He doesn't seem like he'd know how to set up a bear hang. It is still possible that he just didn't care and was lucky enough that all the hyperphagic bears around here didn't try to find his food. So I'm not saying he didn't camp with only a little backpack but it would be... unusual... and foolish IMO.

On another note, it has been rainy and very windy in the area this whole afternoon. Any search efforts for GP may have been hindered somewhat by the weather. Rain and very cold weather are expected tomorrow... I doubt it will snow where they're looking but will be pretty close.

How far is the parking lot from the campground that is being investigated?

 

[NuttMegg]

Gabby was supposed to be the love of his life ‘Until death do us part” from his Instagram. I wonder if he even misses her and has any remorse?

No

 

[Colinj31]

It's only a bit over 10 miles from the dam to Spread Creek campground.

Google Maps

That would be a roughly 4 hour walk.

 

[annpats]

But the text said Yosemite, right?

Yes, but it's thought that was a mistake. Yosemite was written instead of the correct Yellowstone.

 

[EmmieA]

Something else I noticed while watching their videos, BL was eating with a plastic fork. He wouldn't take water from the police because it was in a plastic bottle but he will use a plastic fork to eat. Nothing really important, just interesting. I also have lit a candle for Gabby.

And he could’ve used that same fork the entire trip for all we know.

 

[bambibones]

Is Spread Creek Campground in Moran?

We rented a place in Moran for a week in the early 1990's. Had to be evacuated due to a wild fire.
Tetons are so beautiful....lots of bald eagles and moose back then.
I hope Gabby is found alive and well.
( Dreams are free.)
IMHO

It's about 40 minutes ESE of Moran. Moran is near Jackson Dam, next to the intersection of 191 and 26..

 

[Hope4More]

She was deliberately using The Dryt app to find free dispersed campsites. She was not looking to stay in regular park campgrounds. They had done this the entire trip, except for the SLC motel. And yes, Wednesday Aug 25th was a free entrance day so the park might have had more traffic and congestion than usual.

The number of people using free, dispersed campsites and the number of websites that are devoted to them has skyrocketed with the number of people traveling in RV's, trailers, vans, and tent camping. First of all, the demand for in-park campsites has overwhelmed most parks as everyone felt they had to finally bust out of COVID confinement and get into some space. And most people go to parks to find peace and beauty and the crowded and rather noisy in-park campgrounds don't afford the same experience as dispersed camping. And you save money.

I think on the video Brian says they did have a NP pass, which is obviously the least costly way to visit multiple national parks/forests/ seashores/monuments on an extended trip (or over a year). But the rest of what you describe is definitely true. Even before Covid. I last went to Yellowstone about 5 years ago, in season, and the huge volume of visitors made being there almost unbearable.

 

[feralwriter]

Yes, it's very unlikely there's another Brian that looks just like him, who has a blogging girlfriend etc. I just mean, if this incident was for real, wouldn't it point more to his innocence than his guilt?

Like another poster mentioned, it would point to alibiing up.

 

[Seabunny]

JMO, but I don't believe BL ever drove that van back to his parents home. I don't believe he has been at his parents house this whole time refusing to speak with LE .And I don't know, but I'm thinking his parents home is probably being staked out by a lot of news reporters. So how did BL just walk out the door and drive away in that Mustang without notice. One has to asks what lengths would a parent go to, to protect their child.

many would take great lengths.

 

[SMK777]

This is from The New York Post so hope it’s ok to link here:
@MassGuy

Photo shows person who looks like Brian Laundrie walking Florida street

 

[BuySellTrade]

I don’t believe he’s in those woods. No way.

If the conditions are as bad as many of you say they are nobody could exist in there.

IMO search of the park is a wild goose chase. The park is nothing but an uncomfortable trap. BL could be in that park if he went there for suicide but unlikely if he yearned to escape.

 

[squareandrabbet]

This trip has always been in my hmm box since I first read this story. There is some hand written notes on it from the uncle that was posted to SM. The note does not mention storage, just that Brian was back in FL. The storage story is only referenced in the Daily Mail article when her mom is asking about "where is Gabby's stuff".

I find this part of the story particularly interesting for a couple reasons. 1.) as you mentioned, perhaps she hid things or even lied to her parents about things. 2.) I would think that her parents were well aware of the flare up on 8/12, but were they? 3.) It has been reported that the father ordered pizza for her on 8/21 and that he noticed no red flags. Where is Gabby Petito? | WFLA This to me is remarkably strange. How would the family know about her being in a hotel and Brian being in Florida and not consider this as a red flag, especially in light of they had a bit of a fist a cuffs?

There is more there I believe. I think that GP's parents don't have the full story from their daughter either. The timing of it all just seems, I don't know, off. I am sure all of this has been discussed in detail with the FBI.

Maybe it wasn't a red flag for her family, specifically because her father had already heard the story of Brian separating from Gabby in order to fly back and do the storage thing.

It doesn't have to have been the 100% simon-pure only reason; and it doesn't mean she and Brian didn't argue, etc.; it just has to be true enough for Gabby to be comfortable proffering it aloud as the sole reason.

 

[BeachSky]

Setting up the alibi maybe that she was alive at this point and working on her SM stuff. He finds the van and she isn't there, so he left. I dunno, just throwing out an idea.

this IMO !!!!

 

[Colinj31]

It's only a bit over 10 miles from the dam to Spread Creek campground.

Google Maps

That would be a walk of 4-5 hours.

 

[ninvestigate]

He does seem a little obsessed with Fight Club and that doesn't seem to match the whole VanLife lifestyle. Living off the grid, living without material possessions. I think he is the type of guy to pull a Chris McCandless "Into the Wild" kind of thing. But maybe, Gabby was also into that kind of thing too deep down, which is perhaps why she hasn't been seen in three weeks. She could be on the Pacific Crest Trail, doing a Cheryl Strayed sort of thing.

Hmmm I don't think so, Cheryl saw a hell of a lot of people on the PCT...

 

[RickshawFan]

The campground doesn't look so dense. I'm not sure what I was expecting but not this open.

Reviews of Spread Creek Dispersed Campground | The Dyrt

It sounds like many different families/campers/groups pile into each of the campsites when it gets busy. How awful! You go sightseeing, and 5 other carloads have pulled into your spot. Ick on the toilet situation. However, this does mean the white van might have had other campers actually in their spot. This would have been a busy time for campers, the week before Labor Day (or so), just before school starts, etc., beautiful weather before it gets too cold...

 

[HogWild79]

"where is Gabby's stuff".

Some possibilities...
Brian removed it when he got home.
Law enforcement is still sifting through it.
Gabby has it with her, or some of it with her.
It was thrown out on Brian's trip back to Florida.

 

[avosamy]

I'm curious why the tiktok person, who picked up a hitchhiker in the area where Gabbie last spoke with her mother, is taken seriously.

I'm sure that tiktok picked up a hitchhiker, but does she have a photo or something to prove that the hitchhiker is related to Gabby's disappearance? We know that she reported the info to FBI, and then she reported it to the media, but does it really fit with what we know about Gabby and fiance wanting to remain close to the van? Gabby did not want fiance to drive away in the van without her, even though she should have expected that he'd be back soon - after they'd cooled off from the disagreement.

Why would they park the van and hike 10 miles to a campsite? The tiktok person claims that they picked up a hitchhiker who was heading to Jackson, but when she mentioned that they were driving to Jackson Hole, he panicked and demanded that they let him out of the van. Most importantly, is it believable that they parked the van and hiked 10 miles to camping spot?

What's the story - that they did not park the van at Jackson Hole, but farther away?

"He approached us asking for a ride because he needed to go to Jackson and we were going to Jackson that night. So I said, you know, 'Hop in,' and he hopped in the back of my Jeep," Baker said. "He offered to pay us like $200 to give him a ride like 10 miles. So, that was kind of weird."​

https://www.fox13now.com/news/local...-laundrie-hiking-in-grand-teton-national-park

According to her various interviews, they picked him up and he was memorable because he was alone, he offered $200 for a 10 mile ride, and he was relatively clean considering he had "been camping for a few days". Plus the about face once they headed south to Jackson made him stick out in their memory. She texted to her mom about it - I don't know how since service there is so sketch- but was able to corroborate the time stamps when she reported to FBI. She ID'd him after seeing the poster. It puts him in the area they thought they would be in, but alone. She was also able to identify his daypack as being relatively empty. Good eye for detail equals valuable tip.

 

[CocoTutu]

After I put that timeline together last night I am not confident the van was still there at that point. There is a real possibility someone else came and took it. He was on foot on 8/29 and the timeline if right has Gabby gone by 8/29 with no reason why he would not have that van unless he temporarily ditched it after the act out of fear and went back to it later. That is a possibility. It is possible he used the TikTokers as a makeshift alibi. Because by now we know he is more cunning than we first thought.

I think at the point TikTokkers let him out it's about to be dark if not already. He's got a parking lot full of folks but he might strike out. There's a solid chance that someone who'd pick up a hitchhiker (whether in the lot or back on the highway) is a longer term camper and likely not looking at national news.

 

[carbuff]

Quiet amazed at lack of awareness/knowledge of geography about Rocky Mt West from many Websleuth posters on this thread. One can always look it up!
West Yellowstone is in MT
West Yellowstone

I know. It's driving me crazy. (Montana girl here.)