A coroner in Wyoming has confirmed that a body found on Sunday is that of Gabby Petito, and that her death was a homicide.
The 22-year-old from New York was last seen alive on August 24, checking out of a hotel in Utah during her road trip across the U.S. with boyfriend Brian Laundrie, 23.
Laundrie returned to his family home in Florida without her on September 1, and on September 14 police were alerted to his disappearance. He has not been seen since, and remains a ‘person of interest’ in the case.
On Tuesday, the FBI in Denver tweeted: ‘Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue confirmed the remains are those of Gabrielle Venora Petito, date of birth March 19, 1999.
‘Coroner Blue’s initial determination for the manner of death is homicide.
‘The cause of death remains pending final autopsy results.’
Gabby Petito, 22, is pictured with her boyfriend Brian Laundrie, 23, in a YouTube video made to document their ‘van life’ road trip. A body believed to be Petito’s was found on Sunday and on Tuesday the coroner confirmed it was her. Laundrie has disappeared
Laundrie and Petito are seen in a photo dated July 29. The pair met at high school on Long Island, New York, and begun dating several years ago
Police were alerted on September 11 by Petito’s mother, Nicole Schmidt.
Schmidt said that she last spoke to her daughter on August 25. She then received two text messages from her phone, but the wording sounded odd and she is unsure if Petito sent them.
A huge manhunt was launched to find the missing woman, and police said that they received more than 1,000 tips.
Petito and Laundrie had cultivated a following on social media as the traversed the West in their van, and fellow social media users jumped into the hunt for clues.
The van was spotted in footage made by YouTubers, a TikTok user said that she had given an ‘antsy’ Laundrie a lift when he was hitchhiking on August 29, and an Idaho woman who owns a shop in the town of Victor said that she had seen the pair around that time.
Laundrie and Petito set off on their dream road trip from New York on July 2
The pair had been traveling on a cross-country trip together since July 2, when they left New York. Petito was reported missing on September 11
Petito’s body was located on Sunday at the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area.
The camp site is on the edge of the Grand Teton national park, and has views of the stunning mountain range.
Campers are allowed to stay on the undeveloped site, in the Bridger-Teton National Forest.
Laundrie’s whereabouts are now the subject of intense interest.
His car has been recovered, abandoned, from the Carlton Reserve in Sarasota County, Florida. The Mustang had a note on it asking for the car to be removed.
Police on Monday said they had ‘exhausted all avenues in searching of the grounds there,’ but are still looking for Laundrie.
On Tuesday they were investigating a possible sighting of him, after someone baring a resemblance was spotted in a wooded area 500 miles from his Florida home.
The photo image provided to police by Bass shows a man with a backpack as he is walking through the woods. The man appears to have the same physical features as Laundrie, including a slim build and a bald head
‘I’m not saying this is the guy but whoever was on my trail camera this morning in Baker, Fl strongly fits the description of Brian Laundrie, authorities have been contacted but people in the North West Florida area be on the look out,’ Bass wrote on his Facebook page on Tuesday
Sam Bass told police that he spotted a man while he set up his deer camera in the wilderness in Baker, Florida in Okaloosa County early on Monday morning.
But the local sheriff’s office said that it followed up on the report and ‘no one – and nothing – of note was located.’
‘The OCSO did its due diligence in response to this report and is wrapping up an extensive search that took place in this area to include nearby farmlands,’ the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
‘No one – and nothing – of note was located. The individual referenced in the post below has no known ties to our area.’
The photo image provided to police by Bass shows a man with a backpack as he is walking through the woods in the Florida Panhandle.
The man appears to have the same physical features as Laundrie, including a slim build and a bald head.
Laundrie’s father Christopher Laundrie broke cover for the first time Tuesday – but refused to answer questions about his missing son.
The 62-year-old is seen in exclusive DailyMail.com photos walking out onto his driveway around 3pm, a day after the FBI raid on the North Port, Florida home he shares with wife Roberta.
Brian Laundrie’s father Christopher Laundrie made a rare foray into town on Tuesday, one day after the FBI raided the North Port, Florida home he shares with his wife Roberta
Laundrie, who was dressed in khaki shorts and a black top, strode out to his red Dodge Ram pick-up truck and drove past the police presence outside his home before returning 20 minutes later with half a gallon of milk
Dressed in khaki shorts and a black top, Laundrie strode out to his red Dodge Ram pick-up truck and drove past the continued police presence outside his home.
He returned 20 minutes later with half a gallon of milk and quickly disappeared back into the house.
The Laundrie residence has become somewhat of a media circus.