Everything we know about the Gabby Petito case

For a few weeks, the internet has been abuzz with the news of Gabby Petito. In July, the 22-year-old aspiring YouTuber and her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, set off on a cross-country trip. However, they stopped contacting the family at the beginning of September. A few days later, her family reported her missing. Since then, the police have been actively investigating her mysterious disappearance. In an exciting turn of events, Laundrie has also gone missing. It is important to note that Laundrie is the person of interest in Petitio’s disappearance.

Who is Gabby Petito?

Originally from Blue Point, New York, Petito moved to Florida to live with Brian Laundrie and his parents. Although they were childhood sweethearts, their relationship has been shaky. In 2019, they were dating, and Laundrie also proposed to Petitio. However, her mom says that they called off the engagement. According to some reports, they postponed the wedding due to the pandemic and decided to go on a cross-country trip. Gabby Petito documented her ‘Van Life’ on social media. In a YouTube video, she shared:

“We handcrafted our own tiny van, a simple 2012 Ford Transit Connect, utilizing space with unique designs and features. Creating a space for both artistic expression and distance hiking. Thank you so much for watching, and we hope you tag along on our journey wherever the van takes us!”

What happened to Gabby Petito?

On 2nd July, Gabby Petito and her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, departed from New York. They were set to go on a cross-country trip for four months. They traveled to Florida, Utah, Colorado, and Kansas, according to their social media posts. The couple camped in national parks and forests. Recently, Utah police released bodycam footage of Gabby Petito and Laundrie. In the video, they reveal to the police that they had a fight which was witnessed by someone who called the police. It can be seen that Laundrie has bruises and scratches marks on his neck, face, and arm. After seeing this, the police almost arrested Petito. However, Laundrie decided not to press charges. According to Petito’s stepfather, she contacted the family on August 25th for the last time. He said:

“She would go off the grid… doing her van life stuff, exploring these different areas. So it wasn’t uncommon for her to go off for few days at a time, but she’d always make her way back to someplace where she could get on to a Wi-Fi connection, upload to her Instagram, make phone calls, FaceTime.”

Where did Brian Laundrie go?

After Gabby Petito stopped contacting her family, no one knew where the couple was. However, Brian Laundrie returned to his parent’s home on September 1st. Interestingly, he drove the same van he and Petito were traveling in. Even though he was the only person who knew what had happened, he chose not to talk to the police. On 11th September, Gabby Petito’s family officially filed a missing person report. A few days later, it was revealed that Laundrie was the person of interest. Conveniently, Laundrie’s family reported him missing just a few days later. At the moment, the police are searching for both of them. However, Petito’s family claims he is not missing but hiding.

So far, nothing has come out of the investigation. Here’s hoping that they both return safely.