Found Deceased WY - Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Petito, 22, Grand Teton National Park, 25 Aug 2021 #13

[vanlifelady]

It's a very small van by American standards, we have those exact Ford vans over here in the UK.

I was surprised that 2 people would choose live & sleep in such a small space. A bigger van may have been better. Plenty of choice of those in the US.

Anyway, I was wondering if being such a small van people may remember it against the loads of bigger vans that would have been around in the NP camps and car parks. That, and the FL plates.

I wondered the same thing. But I also fulltime in a Honda Element because of money- it was the car I had when I started vanlife. But they BOUGHT this van to live in. Which is kind of odd. Why choose a small van? Maybe it was the newest they could afford?

 

[MsBetsy]

I thought that they actually argued bc he didn’t shower?

I didn't hear him say he didn't shower. I thought he said he can't stop being dirty, is always going barefoot, etc. I think it annoyed Gabby because it resulted in a lot of sand in the tent and van. IMO

 

[penguinface]

<modsnip - broken quote>
If he’s there, the dogs would drop and pickup his scent again (that’s a guess). I’m just having a hard time with the parents state of mind in letting him go (I know he’s an adult), knowing people’s outrage and his state of mind /mental issues. If he insisted on going why didn’t dad go with him? I do believe the parents know exactly what happened, maybe not Gabby’s location but they know she’s not here any longer. I don’t think there are any friends that would help him, another family member maybe. Possibly picked him up and took him to another location to hide out.

Could he have gone a day’s hike into the reserve, to dump his phone near a gator area or something, then a day’s hike back and away to hiding? Would certainly help you to get away with something like that if your parents made sure your car wasn’t at the car park overnight while you were hiking, so as not to arouse suspicions of passing cops.

 

[Whiteorchids]

It’s not her crying and his nervous chatter that make me suspect mental illness it’s their own words. Mental illness is a broad term, too. But it’s the only way to say it without knowing which illness it is. Gabby’s reaction seems normal to be, and his too really. He was trying to diffuse the seriousness of the argument. Also nervous.

Diffuse it by locking her out of her own van putting her backpack out making her believe he was leaving without her? Since when is that diffusing it. Her should have walked away but we all know he’s not a man.

 

[Newton]

Yes, I see both as well. And their positions made me think Gabby was inside the van when this was filmed. She likes the van neat and so she may have slipped them off right before stepping up and in for a nap. They look like my mother's slippers looked at her bedside before she slipped them off to get up into bed.

I was thinking they are hers as well because they are neatly put side by side where she could slip them on when exits the back of the van. He doesn't seem as organized as she is.

 

[Cecelia]

There are other possibilities. I’m trying to find the least harmful one that still makes it problematic to tell the police.
Whatever happened, BL and family hired a lawyer for advice and the lawyer said to say nothing. Why? What story could he have told that lawyer, that he would say, keep mum? Why can’t he at least give out last place he saw her or spoke or texted her? Why is that info dangerous to him to give out?

All I can think of is that he's guilty of something else, something unrelated but worse than abandoning his fiancée and keeping mum about it. What that "something else" might be, can't (and really shouldn't) speculate.

ETA that is if he is actually innocent of any wrongdoing regarding Gabby, and we're searching for "innocent" reasons he wouldn't cooperate or at least tell where he last saw her.

 

[Skigirl]

I’m so confused. Can someone please explain two things to me…th.
1.) The video floating around of the couple driving by their van would have been taken before anyone knew she was even missing. It wasn’t discovered she was missing until the van was already home in Florida. But in the video, the couple know she’s missing.
2.) I don’t understand the timeline of the cars in the driveway. Where did the silver mustang come from and when.

The couple is narrating over footage that they took on August 27th, in the current time (probably yesterday, Sept 18).

If you listen to what they are saying, they are saying (paraphrasing here), "We were looking for a campsite, and we wanted to go to the back because we had heard the views are better. When we saw this white van with Florida plates, we wanted to stop and say 'hi' because we're also from Florida and it's unusual to see people from Florida out here. But none of the doors were open and it didn't look like they were there, or maybe they were inside and sleeping, we didn't want to intrude so we just kept driving by."

It seems that they have some sort of show (whether TV or YouTube -- I've never heard of it) on their travels or van life, and they are are filming a lot of the time when they are driving around.

 

[klind55]

I saw it but wondered if BL would really dig in broad daylight in a field to potentially Bury a body? I just think it seems rather brazen for a true crime fan IMHO

I agree, seems like maybe closer to the trees would be a better option but this is a road less traveled so who knows. I am sure(and hope) they are leaving no stone unturned. Could be nothing, could be belongings, could be Gabby. Or if this is a person they could be walking back from from somewhere further away.

 

[vanlifelady]

Actually this case went international. It was even on the Dutch news.....You could ask why..Still cucumber time as we would call the time there is not much to fill the news. Terms used "influencer", "social media star"....kind of made me laugh. She was only a young girl traveling, making you tube video's like so, so many. Nothing special, besides she is missing and of course that is very sad.

One of the things that is compelling me to follow this investigation is the tragedy of the disappearance of a girl who was just following her dreams. So that might have something to do with it. I also think a lot more people are interested in vanlife than we know.

 

[Theforeigner]

Updated with new YouTube video

In the timeline it says: "AUG 29 Elk hunters spot van"

My question:
1. Any specific info on WHERE and WHAT TIME the van was spotter Aug 29 by the elk hunters ?
2.Also do we know the identity of the elk hunters ?

 

[penguinface]

So with the additional stickers we noticed in the LE pics of the van, those were added between the 27th and when LE got it. I assumed they just added them sometime after Moab but seems he may have added those himself.

Probably already said by half a dozen people before me but hopefully DNA or fingerprints or something would be able to find out…

 

[MysteryMama]

I've updated the map with the location, based on the distance/curves from the double-drive they pass at 1:08 on the video.

There is an editing cut in the video right before the van. I wonder how much they cut out and if this would change the map location?

 

[steeltowngirl]

Police have confirmed that law enforcement has access to pings from Brian and Gabby's mobile phones, however, it's unclear if those devices were currently turned on and providing investigators with current location information.

FBI announces search for Gabby Petito in Grand Teton National Park

 

[Centaurus]

My guess is they are looking for Mr. Laundrie? MOO

 

[Look4theHelpers]

It really doesn't say whether the van remained in that location after 6pm on August 27 and so the mystery deepens unless someone comes up with another clue

I believe it's been verified that Elk hunters spotted the van in the same location on the 29th.

 

[Rocky1]

Where was the tent in the video of their van at the campground? It looks like from other videos that they don’t both fit into the van together while sleeping. But I see no tent or even really room to set up a tent.

I may be wrong, but I don't believe they were parked at a " campsite" per se' . It looks to me like they just parked there, It appears too rough and rocky to pitch a tent. I guess you could, but I would think there are much better spots to camp than there? This is odd to me. Why just park there unless there are things to see within walking distance like the dash cam people said they heard there was. All I see is a bunch of scrub brush and sand.

 

[Whiteorchids]

It's a very small van by American standards, we have those exact Ford vans over here in the UK.

I was surprised that 2 people would choose live & sleep in such a small space. A bigger van may have been better. Plenty of choice of those in the US.

Anyway, I was wondering if being such a small van people may remember it against the loads of bigger vans that would have been around in the NP camps and car parks. That, and the FL plates.

I thought the same thing even an extended van would have been better but maybe cost of gas into consideration and parking spaces

 

[AdahJo]

I am doing my best to stay caught up, so forgive me if this has already been addressed.

Regarding OCD & being under the care of a psychiatrist:

I've struggled with anxiety & panic attacks for 15 years. In February, I was hospitalized for mental health treatment. I was then diagnosed with OCD and put in the care of a psychiatrist upon my release. The psychiatrist made it very clear that my right to confidentiality ended if I was a threat to myself or others. Unless BL was a future threat to someone or himself, his psychiatrist would stay quiet about anything he is sharing.

Additionally, I was able to make adjustments to my medications with my psychiatrist over the phone, even when I was newly released from the hospital, even across state lines (we are military.) IMO, I don't see the need for him to fly back to either address meds or have a conversation with his doctor, unless he was being hospitalized.

Regarding OCD specifically: Generally speaking, most people do not have a clear understanding of OCD. It is not uncommon for people to go 10+years after onset of symptoms to get a proper diagnosis because people don't recognize their symptoms as being OCD. It is also not uncommon for people to say they have OCD because they are organized/particular about things. That is NOT OCD.

In the body cam footage, GP says she has OCD "sometimes." That really stood out to me as being something odd for a person with an OCD diagnosis to say. It's not for me say whether or not she has OCD, but I can say that they way she referred to it struck me as VERY odd. It would also surprise me that she was diagnosed with OCD by 22. Symptoms typically show up around 19 years old. It's not impossible, but definitely not typical. It is also VERY hard for someone with OCD to be away from home for extended periods of time. This could either point to her not having it OR could explain why she seemed to be struggling so much in that footage.

I have a friend who has OCD that gets pretty upset when people use the term to describe being picky or very meticulous about cleanliness. According to her, it's very common for people to use the term lightly when she knows it to be debilitating. It's possible that Gabby was doing that, and had even been accused of being OCD by others because she was picky. She wouldnt necessarily have had to been diagnosed or on meds.

 

[Whiteorchids]

No, it actually was an empty van, which is why they continued driving…

Or she was deceased already in the back

 

[silsby]

They said they also saw the van on the way out, but they didn't stay over night back in there, no avail sites.

This is exactly why I’m hoping there have been so many more valid tips given by others at GTNP who don’t have a large social media presence or don’t care to put it online. I was at this park this time last year, and it is consistently packed (according to rangers, after I asked if it’s always like this). I’m hoping they have loads of leads we just don’t know about. Just to give perspective: if you want campsite at Jenny Lake for the night, you need to arrive at 4am or earlier and are in line with other cars for hours. You will talk to those around you, it’s inevitable (unless you’re on an extremely remote hike).