The human remains discovered in north Wyoming have been confirmed to be of the missing 22-year-old “van life” travel vlogger Gabby Petito, the FBI announced after medical examiners in North Port completed their autopsy on the body.
According to the FBI, the remains were found near an undeveloped camping area surrounded by woodlands and brush, located about 30 miles (48km) northeast of Jackson, Wyoming, on Sunday. The autopsy proved that it was indeed the body of Petito, the woman who reportedly went missing during a cross-country road trip with her fiance, Brian Laundrie.
Reports said that the couple were childhood sweethearts who met while growing up on New York’s Long Island. Laundrie later moved to North Port, just south of Sarasota, and the two dated for two and a half years. In late June or early July, they left together in Petito’s white van to go on a cross-country road trip, visit national parks, and document the trip on social media.
Sometime during the trip, the couple were reportedly seen fighting which ended up with the two being separated by the police for the night. On Sept. 1, Laundrie returned home alone.
Ten days after his return and after no news from their daughter, the Petito family on Sept. 11 reported that she was missing.
Laundrie, 23, was recently named a “person of interest” in Petito’s disappearance. FBI agents tore through his family home, declaring it an “active crime scene.” After returning, Laundrie had also declined to comment on Petito’s disappearance. He also sought a lawyer and his whereabouts are unknown currently. Last Friday, authorities confirmed they are searching a nature reserve near his home.
In an interview on TV’s “Dr Phil” show, the deceased woman’s father, Joseph Petito, said the couple had taken a previous road trip to California in her car and there were no problems. This time around, they got worried after several of not hearing from their daughter and they reached out to Laundrie and his entire family to no avail.
“We called Brian, we called the mom, we called the dad, we called the sister, we called every number that we could find,” Joseph said. “No phone calls were picked up, no text messages were returned.”
Even before his daughter’s body was found, Joseph said that he wants Laundrie to be held accountable for whatever part he played in his daughter’s disappearance and death, along with his family for protecting him, the Guardian reported.
“I hope they get what’s coming, and that includes his folks,” he said. “Because I’ll tell you, right now, they are just as complicit, in my book.”
