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The Utah park ranger who responded to a dispute between Gabby Petito and her boyfriend Brian Laundrie says she warned the 22-year-old that their relationship appeared "toxic".
On August 12, police pulled over the converted Ford Transit van that the couple was traveling in as part of their summer road trip.
The authorities were responding to a 911 call in which a witness claimed he saw 23-year-old Laundrie "slapping" Petito in Utah, Fox 13 News reports.
Melissa Hulls, the visitor and resource protection supervisor at Arches National Park, had listened to a call over her radio related to the "domestic dispute".
When Hulls arrived at the scene, police had already pulled the pair over, which is when she went over to talk to Petito.
She told the Deseret News of their conversation: "I was probably more candid with her than I should’ve been". Hulls even shared with the young woman that her relationship with Laundrie seemed to be a "toxic" one.
Hulls added: "I was imploring with her to reevaluate the relationship, asking her if she was happy in the relationship with him, and basically saying this was an opportunity for her to find another path, to make a change in her life."
In the 911 call, the unnamed witness said he had seen Laundrie "slapping" Petito before they later drove off.
The newly released audio recording of the call does not align with a police report made following the incident in which Petito was made out to be the aggressor. The report claimed that Petito had started hitting him during an argument, BBC News reports.
An officer wrote in the report, per Fox 5 DC: "It was reported the male had been observed to have assaulted the female" but later came to the conclusion that "no one reported that the male struck the female."
No one was charged that day and the ordeal was classified by the authorities as a "mental/emotional health break."
Police recommended that the couple spend the night away from each other, with Petito instructed to stay in her van and Laundrie at a hotel.
"This wasn’t a good day for anybody. We thought we were making the right decision when we left them," Hulls told Deseret News.
"I wouldn’t have called [the relationship] unsafe. If we had any reason to think any one of them was in danger, we would’ve separated them," she added.
"It’s hard not to second-guess myself, and wish I said more, or wish I had found the right words to make her believe that she deserved more," Hulls continued.
On September 11, Petito's parents reported her missing after Laundrie returned to his Florida home without her less than two weeks earlier.
On September 19, human remains "consistent with the description" of Petito had been discovered in Teton County Wyoming. Laundrie, a person of interest in the case, has been missing since September 14.
