Found Deceased WY - Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Petito, 22, Grand Teton National Park, 25 Aug 2021 #14

[PommyMommy]

Missing woman disappears after road trip with boyfriend as mom reveals message to authorities

Gabby Petito, 22, set out on a road trip with her boyfriend in a converted camper van in early July to tour National Parks, but she disappeared in late August and her family hasn't heard from her in more than two weeks. Now, her mother is pleading for help finding her daughter.

Nicole Schmidt, Petito's mother, said that the last verbal conversation she had with her daughter was on Aug. 25.

"I don't know if she left Grand Teton or not," Schmidt said. "I did receive a text from her on the 27th and the 30th, but I don't know if it was technically her or not, because it was just a text. I didn't verbally speak to her."

[...]

The couple stopped in Grand Teton National Park on Aug. 25, Petito's last known location, before a planned trip to Yellowstone. They were traveling in a 2012 Ford white van that was converted into a camper.

[...]

A spokesperson for the Jackson Police Department said that an "attempt to locate" call was recently filed for Petito. The Suffolk County Police Department is also investigating the case. Suffolk County PD declined to comment on Sunday.

Petito is 5’5" and has blonde hair and blue eyes. She has a triangle tattoo with flowers on her left arm and a "Let it be" tattoo on her right arm.

Anyone who has seen Gabby or has any information on the case should contact the Suffolk County Police Department at 1-800-220-8477.

WY - Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Petito, 22, Grand Teton National Park, 8/25/21 *MEDIA MAPS TIMELINE No discussion*


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[Tiff23fr]

Mod Note:

Please Read and Acknowledge

Where we are at this time:
-Brian Laundrie is officially named a POI by Law Enforcement
-Awareness foundation is approved for discussion
-Find Gabby FB page is not approved
-Gabby is still missing and considered the victim in this case
-Authorities have the van
-LE was at the Laundrie home last night to talk with family - Protestors were at scene
-FOX 13 has reached out to authorities and police confirmed that they have been in contact with the TikTok user, Miranda Baker. They say her story is "possibly credible."
-Authorities are searching for BL who is now considered a missing person: current known search is at Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park / Carlton Reserve
-BL’s parents shared with LE they have not seen BL since Tuesday
-Video of couple dash cam is approved

———————————————

-Gabby’s case is not connected to the double homicide - DO NOT BRING IT BACK INTO THE Thread
-DO NOT BRING IN COVID / COVID SHOTS
-DO NOT BRING IN MENTAL HEALTH
-Do not start or encourage conspiracy theories
-Speculation or suggestions of a hoax or drug use is not permitted
-Include links to sources
-Do not link to unapproved social media
-post to engage in dialogue, not to bicker or argue with fellow posters
-No sleuthing BL’s parents
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Violations of the bullets above will result in an immediate time out. If you have a concern, please use the report link at the bottom of any post rather than stating your concern in thread. If you have question please PM a member of the Mod Team. We are here to help you!

Complete list of rules can be found here: RULES

Thank you for helping us keep this thread open and running smoothly by following the rules and guidelines above. We don’t like closing threads any more than you like experiencing a thread closure.

Thanks for being amazing and valued WS members!!

Best to All,
Tiff

———————
Compliments of @oviedo
LAST UPDATED 10:30 AM EST SEPT. 19

Snipping the timeline and working on it - specifically the cars in the driveway during Sept12-17

AUG 24: The couple were seen checking out of a hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah
AUG 25: Petito’s family spoke to her for the last time over the phone and she said she was in Grand Teton National Park
Last phone call between Gabby & her mom, Nicole Schmidt. Last Instagram post from Monarch Wall in Ogden, Utah.
AUG 25 - Couple spots van at 5pm at Jenny Lake - alerts LE 9/17 they saw it

AUG 27 - Gabby's uncle posts there was a snapchat Gabby sent a friend -heading to Yellowstone (in Dailymail article)
AUG 27-a Van is seen in the side of the road and youtubers post it - MSM picks up the story - could be Gabbys
In the video the lady says it was recorded Aug 27, 2021 at between 6:00 to 6:30 PM
AUG 27 & 30: text messages from Gabby’s phone sent to mom
After August 30th, Gabby’s parents weren’t able to get in contact with Gabby or her fiance. Her fiance’s mother also was not responding to any phone calls.
AUG 29- BL is picked up at 5:30pm while
hiking alone in Grand Teton (tiktok reported in MSM)
B alleged that Laundrie had confessed to camping at an unregulated site in the National Park "in the middle of nowhere along Snake River."

AUG 29 Elk hunters spot van

AUG 30: Text from Gabby to Mom - No service in Yosemite
August 31: A new list titled “Self-Consumption” appeared on the couple’s Spotify
SEP 1: BL returns home to FL alone, (retains an attorney we don’t know when) & is uncooperative with the investigation
SEP 10:: Gabby’s mother texted BL and his mother, RL, trying to get in touch with Gabby, but neither replied. The family alerted the National Park Service.

Sept 10- Gabbys Dad contacts LE?

SEP 11: Gabby’s family report her missing 7 PM
Sep 11: Van seized at the home of BL parents in NorthPort FL - FBI

Sept12-15- working on which cars were in the driveway- camper, mustang, red vehicle

Sep 14: BL family lawyer issues statement
Note: a vehicle left driveway at 6:04pm

Sept 15: NorthPort police names BL as Person of Interest

Sept 15: Gabby's family issues another statement

Sep 15- Northport police chief asks BL lawyer to assist in finding Gabby
Sep 17 - FBI takes over search in WY (GTNP =Grand Teton National Park)

Sept 17- BL family asks police to come to their home
Sept 17- LE at BL home - he is declared missing by his parents as of Tuesday
Parents admit driving the mustang back after finding it at the preserve
Sept18- searches for Gabby and BL
Sept 19- BL search planned
—-
WY - Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Petito, 22, Grand Teton National Park, 8/25/21 *MEDIA MAPS TIMELINE No discussion*

Elk hunters sighting
Search intensifies for Gabby Petito; police respond to Laundrie home in Florida
Reporter Brian Entin video he posted on Tuesday 9/14 at 6:04 pm and he said the parents had left an hour previously.

https://twitter.com/brianentin/status/1437930287170822152?s=21

Then video of them returning in a red truck.

https://twitter.com/brianentin/status/1437932624534769668?s=21


——-

• this reporter says that Brian’s family called police this morning and says he was last seen at the reserve by them and they came here on Tuesday and saw his mustang and drove it hom

Updated with new YouTube video

 

[Tiff23fr]

Mod Note:
We went through several threads yesterday with comments on mental health, OCD, anxiety, etc. It is time to let that go. The focus is where is Gabby and our POI Brian.

Future posts regarding mental health will be removed. The thread is simply moving too fast to bring in the various points of view and personal experiences in this area.

Thanks everyone - You are Rock Stars and we so appreciate you!!

 

[tresptip]

Theory: BL flies back to parents home and says relationship is over. Moves GP’s stuff into storage. Tells parents to keep it quiet. As parent of adult children, I do not report to their SO’s parents, friends, in such situations
For some reason, he flies back to Wyoming, and picks up van and drives it all the way back to FL. What caused that? What happened? Did GP contact him? What was said? Van was registered in her name. Then he told parents something that caused them to bring an attorney into the picture.

Maybe there were some things that Gabby and Brian discovered they needed for their trip that was in storage and it was just decided to move everything out of storage and to his parents house while he was getting those items.

 

[Veronica Sawyer]

None of it explains not at least telling her parents he's not with her. Her parents were worried not only initially about Gabby, but about him. They were worried that they hadn't heard from either Gabby or Brian, and the Laundries weren't even returning a single message for over a week to let Gabby's family know that Brian was home and Gabby wasn't with him. Additionally, he took her only mode of transport and let's not forget Gabby had her own cellphone and could have, had she been left behind somewhere, call a friend or someone for at least a ride. No, even if the initial assault was a mistake, the entire Laundrie family has since treated Gabby like an inconvenient piece of garbage. Sorry to be so blunt, but I have absolutely no grace for the way the Laundries have behaved throughout this ordeal. And to then most likely (imo) help their son disappear and further suck the life out the focus of Gabby being the victim just shows how depraved and disgusting the Laundries are.

We don’t know what Gabby told her parents when he was in Florida for those few days. We don’t know what Gabby told her family when she was on the phone with them (mom, I think) the day they got pulled over. We don’t know if they broke up. And if they did we don’t know who broke up with who or who told their family what, if they even told them at all. We also don’t know how comfortable Gabby’s parents would’ve been with the idea of her carrying on with the trip with some people she just met (if that’s what she maybe did). It all comes down to us not knowing these privy details. With that said, it could easily have been a situation where Brian didn’t feel comfortable saying anything to her parents before she did or didn’t want to say anything to conflict with whatever story she’d maybe tell them later. In that case I can see him not wanting to get her in trouble with her folks if her continuing on with the trip without him would've been an issue. And maybe by the time he realized he should’ve just spoken up because something may have happened to her after their parting of ways it was too late. Because in hindsight saying silent to protect her was obviously a terrible mistake. I could see how the guilt of something like that would outweigh any urgency to speak as terrible as it sounds. JMO

 

[captdj]

I definitely think it is the Forest Rd 30290 section of the Spread Creek area
I'm thinking around site #5 ?
(Need confirmation - watch the youtube vid and match up to google maps/NFS campground map.)

@wnk - in the yt video she said August 27 that they saw the van, right? Your map says 8/29, although that is when the elk spotters saw it I think.

SO next question - how did he/they get from there to Coulter Bay? (heading to alltrails...)

Just asking....how does one get to colter bay from this campsite.... it just seems the road was so far.... is hiking 10 miles a common thing to do....

 

[Kdaiwes]

I think he killed her and disposed of her near the spread creek campsite and then, in a panic had to create an alibi by hiking north to near colter bay.........clean himself up and hitchhike back to the van, telling the people who picked him up MORE than they needed to know about "fiancé" being back at the campsite busily working on her vlog..... this way, if gabby had been discovered dead, it wasn't the loving boyfriend who hurt her because he was out hiking by himself toward colter bay and while he was gone, lo and behold, someone assaulted and killed Gabby. He could then say that when he got back, she wasn't there and he thought she had left him so he drove home to mama. The whole hike to colter bay was to cover up for his dastardly deed. He wasn't equipped for that hike, but he had to leave stuff at the campsite to make it look like someone was there.

This is a good theory! I hadn’t considered that he may have hitch hiked after the fact just to have an alibi! This would explain why he told them he had been hiking for days along Snake River.

 

[Herat]

So do they think Gabby never left the park in Wyoming?

I don't know what LE thinks

I think she never left GTNP and didn't make it to Yellowstone, either

 

[LullabelleRosie]

hmm or perhaps a hiking sock or a pair placed on top of each other rather than folded together?

Maybe it is him in the photo the neighbors took and it was the elbow sleeve he was wearing in that picture?

 

[LavenderLotus]

Hi All - first time poster here. Not sure if this has been discussed already, but has anyone other than the parents actually seen or spoke to BL?

I ask because everything I have read seems like it’s coming from the parents. The lawyers messages seem like they are coming on behalf of the Family and not BL himself (which seems strange as BL is an adult himself). The police have spoke to the parents, but I haven’t seen anywhere where they have said they have Actually SEEN him with their own eyes?

Somebody must have saw him or spoke to him between Sept 1 - Sept 10.

It all seems very strange to me as I would have thought at least one person would have come forward to discuss an interaction with him during this time (unless I have missed something).

Welcome to web sleuths! The weirdest part for me is the family is using a real estate attorney; it's a family friend of theirs but dang, like hire a criminal defense attorney. I don't think anyone has seen or spoken to BL outside of his parents & even then, I don't believe anything the parents say so it's really hard to tell.

 

[R.U.Kidding!]

So, I have been trying to keep up with all the postings on this case, not easy. posting is wicked fast. I may have missed things, so I have a question. Has there been any sighting of Brian since arriving in Florida on Sept 1? Do we even know if he stayed in his home? He could be anywhere, least of all this Reserve.
Would hate to think all these resources are being wasted.

 

[zucchinibread]

With the manpower behind the hunt for Brian, I suspect that LE has some type of arrest warrant in hand. I feel like there was some evidence in the van. IMO

 

[distracted]

Miranda and BF picked him up hitchhiking at Coulter Bay. It is a center for services in Grand Teton National Park. Has a grocery store, showers, laundromat, a pizza place, and another food place, likely a store that sells some camping gear, also has a marina and several kinds of tour agencies.

It's the place you would go if you really needed a shower, get some pizza or other food, or to do some laundry, or maybe even dump some evidence of a crime into their garbage cans, or buy some supplies for an upcoming long cross country trip. It would explain why Miranda commented that he seemed clean and not smelly after reportedly camping by the Snake River for several nights. (Water very cold )

He could have hitchhiked there from Spread Creek Road on Highway 161. He could have crossed Highway 161 and kept going to the Snake River and walked along the river to there.

I just have the feeling that for whatever he needed in Coulter Bay, it wasn't worth driving the van up there and having it spotted on CCTV cameras.

Avoiding cameras may also be why the van was parked on the side of the road.

 

[Lexiintoronto]

Here's a SS of the interior of the van from their traffic stop

View attachment 313308

I would have anxiety over that mess too. It was so fixed up and pretty in their YouTube video.

It looks very different (still photo from their Youtube video)—


ETA: Lighting and clutter makes a big difference, imo. (But I agree it looks stressful!)

 

[sleepysleuth]

Thank you for this. Will you please add the Google link? TY

I’m on my phone and it’s not giving me the option - but the starting place is Jackson Lake Dam and the ending coordinate is 43°46'32.7"N 110°29'54.4"W

Hope this helps!

 

[vanlifelady]

Have you priced those big panel vans lately? They have skyrocket since covid started and vanlife trend became popular in social media (and maybe the Nomad movie). Not to meantion all teh people who now style them selves as van Conversion specialists buying them for resale. I can easily see a limited budget couple buying something smaller and more affordable now that the people with money are buying up all the Sprinters and Promasters.

I have- I’m getting a Sprinter next year. But the Ford e-vans are a lot cheaper and have stayed cheap AND have 4x4. It was just a weird decision to get a dinky Ford transit when an e-van is pretty much the same price and much larger.

 

[SuziQ]

Oh! They HAD a jackery, just like mine! I saw it in their video. That might be enough with their solar panels.

Anybody know how much sun the area got between the 25th and the 29th?

(I have a Prius wagon - built-in bed, freezer, Artic cooler, micro-oven, pull-out desk that converts to a dog bed at night, and room for the more than 100 books I took on my last road trip - pre-pandemic. Next time, it will just be Kindle.)

I'm enjoying reading about poster's travels and the set ups all of you have. Very good info as well. I also follow blogs and some YouTube channels. We bought a very small class c a year ago. It was a learning experience to kit it out for comfort and safety. You never know what situation you will find yourself in. My next goal is to put a solar panel on the roof with a battery bank so we can venture out and aren't stuck using RV parks.

 

[Tiff23fr]

Please don’t reply (don’t want to clutter up thread, but this is important!!)

I want to give a shout out to @JerseyGirl !!! She has been with me around the clock behind the scenes making sure a new thread is ready to go. Thank you @JerseyGirl for the quiet work you do behind the scenes!!!

It takes a village and I wanted to share some love!!!

 

[Alethea]

This came up at breakfast (really exciting times at the Alethea home) so I wanted to share since I know it has been discussed a lot here.

Even for an aggressive defense attorney, not speaking to LE is not always the best answer. Here is an example that comes up a lot in my group for appointed counsel (where you volunteer to be appointed to represent low income defendants). Defendant is found with 1.5 grams of heroin divided into 5 bags. Defendant is charged with possession with intent to distribute. Defendant tells counsel it was all for personal use as he's an addict and he has tried to get clean numerous times. Defendant authorizes counsel to speak to a drug counselor who confirms that Defendant reported using more than 1g of heroin over a couple of days regularly. Counsel can bring that information to the prosecutor and advocate for the charges to be reduced to mere possession and try to get client into drug court or some other diversion program (or at least a reduced sentence).

Defendant is objectively in a better situation after disclosing this information to the prosecution. Refusing to speak or cooperate would not have helped the defendant - if the defendant said nothing, he'd be facing distribution charges (which are much more serious than possession).

All of this to say, criminal representation can be a lot more nuanced than it appears on TV! BL will be better served by a public defender if he's arrested for anything in the future.

 

[PommyMommy]

I’m on my phone and it’s not giving me the option - but the starting place is Jackson Lake Dam and the ending coordinate is 43°46'32.7"N 110°29'54.4"W

Hope this helps!

Yes, it does. TYSM!