Human remains matching the description of missing 22-year-old Gabby Petito have been found by authorities searching Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
Petito was traveling across the US with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, when she disappeared. He was announced as a "person of interest" in the case after he returned home without Petito. Laundrie refused to speak to authorities, and went missing himself several days later.
"As every parent can imagine, this is an incredibly difficult time for her family," FBI agent, Charles Jones, said in a press conference yesterday.
While forensic examinations are yet to "confirm 100%" that the body found is Petito, it has been described as consistent with her description.
Here is a timeline of the case.
July 2nd — Petito and Laundrie leave New York
On July 2, Petito and Laundrie left Long Island, and continued to post pictures of national parks and hot springs using the hashtag, "van life".
In a news briefing, North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison said that the pair were traveling in Petito's white Ford van to the West Coast, where they would visit state national parks. He added that she was excited to share the journey with her family, friends, and social media followers, according to CNN.
"She maintained regular contact with her family members during her travels, however, that communication abruptly stopped around the end of August," he said.
August 12 — Petito and Laundrie engage in "some sort of altercation"
Petito posted a photo of herself on Instagram, which was taken on August 9th, where she was seen sitting under an arch in Arches National Park in Utah.
On the same day (August 12th), officers responded to an incident after the pair were described as having "engaged in some sort of altercation."
"Both the male and female reported they are in love and engaged to be married and desperately didn't wish to see anyone charged with a crime," a report from officer Eric Pratt, of Moab Utah, said.
Officers recommended that the couple separate for the night, adding that each individual had their own cell phone in case of an emergency.
Laundrie was brought to a hotel, while Petito stayed in the van. Both were told to "take advantage of this time apart to relax their emotions, and regain control of their anxiety."
Petito was described as "confused and emotional", and reported, "serious anxiety" that was made worse by "little arguments she and Brian had been having all day".
Laundrie claimed that Petito had become "manic" from fear that he would leave her stranded in the desert. During the argument, Petito reportedly scratched Laundrie's face and arms. However, he said that he felt safe and did not appear to have hurt his partner physically — as concluded by law enforcement.
"After evaluating the totality of the circumstances, I do not believe the situation escalated to the level of a domestic assault as much as that of a mental health crisis," officer Daniel Robbins reported.
No charges were filed, and the altercation was labeled as a "mental [or] emotional break" rather than domestic assault.
August 19th — the couple post a YouTube video
On August 19th, Petito and Laundrie posted an eight-minute YouTube video documenting their travels. The video, titled Van Life: Beginning Our Van Life Journey, showed the pair climbing rocks, kissing, and laughing.
"I love the van, Petito said, while smiling at Laundrie.
August 23rd - 24th — Petito calls her parents
Per the New York Times, Petito's stepfather, Jim Schmidt, and her mother, Nichole, said that they last spoke to her on FaceTime around August 23-24th.
Schmidt said that his stepdaughter told them that she and Laundrie were due to leave Utah and drive to Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. He added that Petito had texted her mother several times following their call.
August 25th — Petito's last Instagram post
Petito uploaded her last post to Instagram on August 25th. The picture of her smiling and holding a knitted pumpkin was captioned, "Happy Halloween."
August 30th — "No service in Yosemite"
Petito's mother, Nichole, told the New York Post that she received a text from her daughter's phone on August 30th. It read, "No service in Yosemite."
September 1st — Laundrie returns to Florida
On September 1, Laundrie returned to his and Petito's North Port home.
Police later recovered Petito's vehicle — which the couple had been traveling in — at the home they share with Laundrie's parents.
After being processed, it was discovered that "there was some material in there", which authorities are currently going through, as reported by North Port police spokesperson Josh Taylor.
Petito's family, who live in New York, reported her missing on Saturday evening to the Suffolk County, New York, police department. While North Port authorities visited the Laundrie's home on Saturday night to speak to them, they were "essentially handed the information for their attorney", per Taylor.
"That is the extent of our conversation with them."
September 11th — Petito is reported missing
On September 11th, Petito's family reported her missing, according to North Port Police.
September 15th — Laundrie is deemed a "person of interest"
The police declared Laundrie as a "person of interest" in the case after saying that he was the last person known to be with Petito before she went missing.
On September 15, North Port police said that Laundrie had neither "made himself available to be interviewed by investigators," nor "provided any helpful details."
The same day, Chief Todd Garrison took to Twitter to address Laundrie's lawyer, Steven Bertolino.
"Mr Steven Bertolino, Esq. the @NorthPortPolice needs your help in finding Gabby Petito. Please call us to arrange a conversation with Brian Laundrie. Two people left on a trip and one person returned!" he wrote.
Bertolino said in a statement to CBS2 New York:
"In my experience, intimate partners are often the first person law enforcement focuses their attention on in cases like this and the warning that 'any statement made will be used against you' is true, regardless of whether my client had anything to do with Ms. Petito’s disappearance.
"As such, on the advice of counsel, Mr. Laundrie is not speaking on this matter."
As a result, he and his family "will continue to remain silent on the advice of counsel."
Officials at Grand Teton National Park disclosed that rangers were working with law enforcement to find the missing woman.
September 16th — Petito's parents issue a plea
In a letter read by the Petito's family attorney during the law enforcement's Thursday news briefing, her family pleaded with Laundrie's family for information.
"Please, if you or your family have any decency left, please, tell us where Gabby is located," they said. "Tell us if we are even looking in the right place. All we want is for Gabby to come home. Please help us make that happen. We haven't been able to sleep or eat, and our lives are falling apart."
The lawyer said that the family contacted Laundrie's family earlier this month for information, but they refused to answer.
Speaking to CBS2 New York, Petito's father, Joseph, said: "If you’re hiking a trail and stuff like that and you see her, you can turn around: ‘That’s Gabby … Gabby, here is my phone. You need to call your folks right now."
September 17th — Laundrie goes missing
On September 17th, Laundrie's parents told law enforcement that they had not seen their son since September 14th.
September 18th — Police start searching the Carlton Reserve
North Port law enforcement announced that they were searching the Carlton Reserve for Laundrie — a 25,000-acre park around 13 miles from the city.
According to the police on Twitter, Laundrie's family "says they believe he entered the area earlier this week".
"The North Port Police Department, FBI, and agency partners are currently conducting a search of the vast Carlton Reserve for Brian Laundrie. His family says they believe he entered the area earlier this week. More details when available," they said.
Meanwhile, the FBI said that they were searching Grand Teton National Park and the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area in Wyoming.
September 19th — Human remains are found
Human remains were discovered in Teton County Wyoming, FBI officials said in a news conference. They were said to be "consistent with the description" of the missing 22-year-old.
"Full forensic identification has not been completed to confirm 100% that we found Gabby, but her family has been notified of this discovery," Charles Jones, FBI Denver's supervisory senior resident agent in Wyoming, said
On September 19th, police said that their search for Laundrie had ended with nothing new to report.
Shortly after the news was announced, Gabby's father, Joseph Petito, took to Twitter to share a photo of his daughter.
In the picture, she is standing in front of a mural depicting angel wings. He captioned the post: "#GABBYPETITO she touched the world."
Laundrie's family released a statement in response to the news that a body had been found. The statement, made through their attorney, reportedly said: "The news about Gabby Petito is heartbreaking. The Laundrie family prays for Gabby and her family."
